Wordlessly
by Amelie'sHuman
Summary: Grimmjow ends up lost in Karakura Town unable to use his powers to help himself because he's been turned into a cat. Luckily he is taken in by an oddly quiet girl. The story has a slow start but it takes a hard turn later. Slow burn story
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to the start of my new story! I would just like to warn you, there is a decent amount of profanity in this story (It is rated M for a reason). If you came here hoping for a cutesy and fluffy story then please proceed to the next one down 'cause this isn't one.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its character. They are the creation of Tite Kubo**

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 **Chapter 1**

 _Boring._ That was the only word that came to Grimmjow's mind. Now that the war with the Quincies was over and Hueco Mundo had been returned to its previous state under Tier Harribel rule Grimmjow was left to spend his days mindlessly killing the small-fry hollows he comes across in the endless desert just to give him something to do. These effortless kills were leaving more than just some to be desired. The only ones around that could provide him with a proper fight were the Nelliel and Harribel but neither of them were ever willing to properly fight him. _What the fuck? Why is it the female Arrancar lose their sense of fun and hate fighting?_ Then he remembered the current hollow King's fraccion and changed his mind about that last thought. Though even when those three fought to their fullest they wouldn't give him much more fun than the random hollows he comes across.

Just then a wicked smile spread across his face. _Seeing as there's nothing to keep me entertained here I think it's time I go pay Kurosaki a visit. He's bound to be able to give me an entertaining fight._

With his mind made up, Grimmjow didn't waste a second opening his Descorrer and beginning his trip through the darkness of the in between dimension to the World of the Living.

 _Can't wait! Finally time to rip that asshole to pieces! I'll hack him up. Just the thought of hearing him scream out in pain…_ His psychotic smile widen even more _Just you wait! I'm coming for you, Kurosaki!_

He sensed to the familiar feeling of Karakura Town and opened his exit. Unfortunately for him, Grimmjow was never one for the phrase "look before you leap" Just as his gateway opened and he shot out, Grimmjow was engulfed in a bright light. _The fuck?!_

When the light faded, the Arrancar found himself on the ground and he felt… different. Strange. When he opened his eyes they were still blurry and he couldn't stop them from blinking rapidly, trying to make them adjust them faster.

"Oh. It looks like the experiment was a success!" Weird. He knew that voice. But from where?

"Was it just my imagination, or did a Garganta open just now?" This voice was a females, and he knew it to.

"I didn't notice anything. Probable just your mind play tricks on you." The first voice said.

 _That freaky shop owner Shinigami and the tan skinned woman!_ Now that he knew where he knew the voices from. If they were running experiments than it'll be best if Grimmjow made a quick exit before they pulled him into it. Pushing himself up off the ground, the Arrancar sprinted away from the area giving no mind as to where he was running so long as it was away. Just to be safe he stayed on the ground as he ran down a few streets and mindlessly turning a few corners. _Something feels weird._ He couldn't pinpoint what was out of the ordinary, but the buildings around him were definitely way too big. Now that he was a decent distance from where the Garganta opened he decided to go up and search for Kurosaki from above. Only problem was, when he jumped into the air and land on a Reiatsu platform he simply fell back down to the ground hands first.

 _What the fu-_ when Grimmjow looked down at his hands he couldn't find them. Instead a pair of furry black paws. _WHAT?!_ He thought bending his back legs to sit down and further examine what was supposed to be his front hands. _Wait! Why did I have to sit?!_ His panic was growing as he looked down at the rest of his body and was horrified to see a small, slender furry black stomach and paws. His panic increased 100 times over and he bolted down the street looking for any type of reflective surface. Rounding a corner her found himself at a larger street with a lot of people walking, many of whom were carrying various bags, and all of the buildings had large glass windows showing clothing and various thing that were unfamiliar to Grimmjow. _Some kind of shopping area?_ What this place was didn't matter, so long as he could look at his reflection and prove that he was seeing things wrong.

Finding a particularly clean window Grimmjow, to his horror, jumped up to the small ledge in front of it and looked at the glass to his reflection and what looked back at him was brought a level of horror he never felt. A sleek, solid black cat with his same blue eyes. _NO! What the fuck happened to me?!_

As he stared in a shock that practically brought a sense of physical pain he heard a blood curdling sound "Mommy, what a cute kitty!"

He turned to see a little human girl holding a woman's hand, dragging her, towards Grimmjow with a large smile and a filthy hand reaching out to him. This little human wanted to _pet_ him. _There's no way in HELL!_ Before the little girl could get any closer, Grimmjow began hissing and swatting violently towards them. Naturally the adult human panicked and swiftly lifted her daughter up and, shrieking in fear, backed away from the vicious cat which drew the attention of many passer-byers. With a path cleared up, he leaped down and ran a quickly as his horribly diminutive and weak body would allow.

The former Arrancar didn't stop running until he found an empty ally and turned into it to catch his breath and think. _Why the fuck am I a CAT!? HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN!?_ Grimmjow was perfectly normal when he traveled through his Garganta. He came out of it perfectly intact, though a little disoriented because of that weird Shinigami shopkeeper's experim- _THAT FUCKIN' SHINIGAMI DID THIS TO ME!_ How could Grimmjow not realize it before?

 _I'm going to find him and make that bastard take back whatever he did to me!_ He resolved as he stepped out of the ally, only to realize he has no clue where he was or how to find his way back, he had been running aimlessly after all. Sitting down to try and somewhat center himself, Grimmjow decided to open his Pesquia to locate the two Shinigami that were at the center of his dilemma. _Pesquia isn't working either._ He thought unhappily. Growling, and then growling deeper in anger when he heard and felt the actual feline noise rubble through his throat, Grimmjow stood and started pacing as he tried to think of a solution.

His deep thoughts were interrupted by the sound of some humans approaching him. Not wanting to deal with another human trying to touch him, Grimmjow decided to go on the offensive before they even thought about getting close to him. When three teenaged looking human boys rounded a corner, he was immediately letting a loud and deep yowling growl escape him, throwing a hiss for good measure when they took notice of him.

"What the fuck is going on with this stupid cat?" one asked.

"Who cares? Just walk around it." Another told him. _Smart human._ Grimmjow thought to himself.

Just then the third had a smile on his face that actually reminded the Arrancar of one of his own. "How about we teach the stupid thing its' place?"

"Heh. Why the hell not?" "Sounds like fun." The other two mindlessly agreed, the first one obviously excited at the idea while who originally said to walk around the car simply sounded like he didn't care one way or the other.

As they quickly closed in on the angry Grimmjow he could feel his pupils open up as much as his irises would allow and his already pulled ears going even flatter against his head. With every step too close they took to him Grimmjow hissed, but the stupid humans just laughed at him until the one who suggested they harass the pissed off Arrancar-cat, the ringleader of the group most likely, reach down to grab him. The moment his hand was close enough, Grimmjow launched himself up at him with, ignoring the irritation towards the entirely angry cat scream he couldn't suppress brought on, and latched himself to the pathetic human's arm and began tearing into his arm and hand with claws and teeth. Naturally the human screamed. "Fucking hell!"

One of his friend boldly took hold of the pissed off cat by the skin and fur on his back and yanked him off of the ringleader human's arm, adding in the shredding of his arm by doing so, then threw Grimmjow down with as much force as he could. He had to admit, when he hit the solid concrete ground it hurt decently. _This body is ridiculously fragile._ He realized. Just then the third kicked out at Grimmjow, who was pushing himself up. The foot hit him solidly and he felt himself hit the wall of one of the building that the ally separated, Grimmjow's vision started swimming on impact. "Fucking cat!" it was the first boy that said that, who now bore a shredded hand and forearm, and was now above him lifting his foot to stomp on the dazed cat. Grimmjow tried to get up and move out of the way, but this cat body was so weak and he couldn't see right anymore, everything was beginning to blur. What he just barely saw was the form of the angry human about to throw his foot down on him with all of his pathetic human strength but then get pulled out of his now practically nonexistent field of vision before everything around him was black.

()

She just wanted to enjoy a walk outside, but apparently even that can't go right for her because as she walked she came across the scene of three high school punks, who looked like they fancied themselves delinquents with greasy combed back hair and poorly maintained school uniforms, beating up a small cat. Just as one, who had clearly received the brunt of the cat's anger or fear, was about to stomp on it after it had been kicked into a wall she grabbed him by the arm and swung him away and into his friends.

He recovered quickly and glared at the woman who interrupted him, "What the fuck little bitch?"

She had long brown hair with a reddish shade to it that fell in soft curls, eyes the same color to match, and pale skin. She was wearing a loosely fitted pink spaghetti strap dress that went to her knees despite having a white shirt and jean pants underneath and strappy sandals with just barely a heel. She was pretty despite obviously not putting effort into her appearance, but they weren't going to let her off the hook. She may be pretty but she seemed arrogant as she said nothing.

"If you were smart you'd get on your knees and beg for forgiveness." Another said, as the third started walking to her and reached to grab her arm.

Before he could touch her though she sidestepped to the left and forward and with seemingly no effort at all she grabbed his wrist and arm then flipped him onto the ground. He may not have landed on his head but the shock of the hard impact with concrete was enough to make him too painful to even try and get back up apparently. "Little cunt!" the one who wasn't hurt lunged forward at her to try and punch her in the face. She used her left hand to swat his fist in a new direction and then returned to intentions by punching him dead center in his face, definitely breaking his nose, and causing him to stumble back. With two of the punks down she stood and waited for the little group's apparent leader to make his move. He however ran away screaming, abandoning his friends. The boy she had punched collected the boy on the ground and ran away. Once all three boys were gone the girl collected the unconscious cat, carrying it back to her home.

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 **I hope you enjoyed our first chapter together! Stay tuned for more!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the new chapter! Sorry it's a bit shorter, the length of the chapters and frequency of their releases are going to be a bit inconsistent but hopefully not drastically so.**

 **For the story the words in bold are written and (I should've mentioned this in the first chapter) italicized words are thoughts. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Bleach is the creation and property of Tite Kubo**

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 **Chapter 2**

Grimmjow woke up with a dull pain in his side and head. _Shit. What the fuck happened?_ He looked around to see where he was, inside a room. He had been placed on a futon that was still folded and left against a wall, under an open window. Scanning the room he saw a small table low to the ground so that the people have to sit on the floor around it, a small dresser, a closet door, something leaning against the wall that was covered by a sheet, and a kitchen area with a girl standing in it with her back turned to him. Whatever she was cooking smelled pretty good and Grimmjow felt hungry.

Taking a moment to stretch his new limbs, and experiencing pain in his abdomen, he stood up and jumped down from the futon. Having apparently heard him, the red-brown haired girl turned her red-brown eyes to him. He locked his gaze on hers until she turned back to the food on the stove, removing it and turning a knob so the little blue fire that was cooking the contents of the pot disappeared. Grimmjow watched as she pulled three bowls, one normal sized and two small ones, from a cupboard and filled one small bowl with water from the sink and the other two she filled with various chunks of food covered in brown liquid from the pot. Carrying the two small bowls to the table, she placed them on the side closest to Grimmjow and then went back to fill a cup with water, retrieved a spoon and carried the third bowl back to the table for herself.

She glanced at him, still in the same spot on the floor in front of the futon, before putting her hands together and closing her eyes for a second then began slowly eating the stew that definitely carried the smell of meat. Grimmjow walked slowly, never taking his eyes off the girl. He hated it but he had to keep in mind that he was essentially defenseless now so he had to be cautious. She glanced at him, but didn't watch him instead she kept her focus on the food in front of her. Taking a moment to lap up some water first, Grimmjow turned to the bowl with the meaty soup and saw that it also had small chunks of potatoes and carrots. It smelled _really_ good and his mouth started to water. He took another look at the woman, she was still eating and paying him no mind, so he decided to risk it and eat. The food didn't just smell good, it tasted very good as well.

Now that he was no longer paying the woman across the table any attention his whole focus was on the delicious food. He shouldn't be this hungry but he was. _It's probably because of this stupid body._ When he finished eating he realized that he was being watched and glared at the woman who was now giving him her full attention. She stared at him with a thoughtful expression, as if she was trying to figure something out but thankfully made no move to touch him. Her staring was irritating to Grimmjow though and he narrowed his eyes and felt his ears pull back slightly and hair stand up slightly all over his body while his tail began whipping back and forth slowly. She frowned slightly at him but said nothing. In fact she hasn't uttered a single sound. _What's her problem? It's not normal for a human to go this long without some type of sound right?_

She looked down at the bowl in front of Grimmjow and pointed at it. He watched her hand closely as she grabbed the empty bowl, leaving the one with water, and carried it to the kitchen area along with her own and started filling them with water and stored what was left in the pot in a small plastic container and put it in the little refrigerator. She returned to cleaning the dishes and once again paid Grimmjow no mind. He just watched her in confusion. She was weird, and he couldn't understand what was different about her from other humans. _It's not just that she's quiet. It's something else, something that I can't pinpoint._

Once the kitchen area was clean she looked back the table with the cat still sitting, watching her. She looked at him confused but continued her silence. _Seriously bitch. Just say what you want to already! I get I look like a cat but I'm not fucking stupid!_

Just then a knock came to the door, pulling both of their attentions to it. The woman walked over and answered the door, revealing an older man who appeared to be middle aged. "Good evening Ametsuchi-san. I had heard that there were some delinquents who got into a fight not too far from here while you were out. I just wanted to see that you were well."

To Grimmjow's confusion she took a few steps over to the refrigerator and pulled a small, somewhat shiny board with a marker attached off and returned to the door while writing something on it. Her back was turned to Grimmjow so he couldn't see what was written when her arms shifted as she turned it to show the man at the door. "Why on earth would you attack them?" the man exclaimed.

Ametsuchi's arms shifted again as she began writing on the board again, then once again showed the man and waited for his response. "A cat?" he asked peering over and seeing Grimmjow for the first time.

"Ametsuchi-san. While I don't prohibit cats in the apartment, I thought you were told that you are not allowed to have any pets so long as you are under the custody of the state?"

" _Custody of the state?" What does that mean? Why is she writing instead of speaking?_ Grimmjow was now filled with questions and no way to ask them.

More writing, and then the man's voice again. "If you're going to be leaving the window open for it then I take it you don't want be to put window screens in your room like the others next week? I suppose as long you aren't actually keeping it it's fine. Just be careful when the agent comes to check on you. I'll see tomorrow. Good night Ametsuchi-san."

After nodding a goodnight to him, she closed the door and locked it. Walking back to the table she sat down and rested against a propped up fist, looking bored as she stared at Grimmjow. Looking down to the little board on the table she wrote on it. **"What are you?"**

Grimmjow was shocked at the question.

She wrote on the board again, **"You aren't really a cat right? I can tell you have spiritual power."**

Grimmjow tried say that he definitely isn't a cat but it came out as a meow. Instead he settled to just nod yes.

Once again she wrote and revealed her words to him, **"My name is Yukiko Ametsuchi. And no I can't speak, that's why I'm writing on this board. If I write out English letters can you point out the letters for your name?"**

 _So she really can't speak, huh? That's probably why she seems weird to me. I've met quiet people but never a mute._ The cat nodded yes, so she proceeded to erase the words on the board and wrote out the English alphabet. She put it down for him to touch each letter and Yukiko would write it as he went until the name Grimmjow was spelt out. After that he went ahead and tapped out "Jaegerjaquez"

" **Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez? That name is complicated as hell."** Was what she wrote out in response with an expression that made it look like she felt writing it out was an inconvenience.

The Arrancar felt his fur puff up slightly in irritation, _Rude little bitch._ He thought with a slight growl. He was done with her, he had a full belly and didn't give the still dull pain in his abdomen any mind so he decided there was no reason to stick around. Turning around, Grimmjow jumped off the table and started walking to the open window but stopped when he heard her tapping on the table figuring, correctly, that she was trying to get his attention before he leaves.

" **I'll leave that window open for you. Most people will probably try to treat you like a lost and helpless little cat so come back whenever you need a break from that."** She had written on her little board.

 _Fat chance of that._ He thought as he jumped out of the window and began walking down the street, beginning his search for the Shinigami that had to be behind his awful predicament.


	3. Chapter 3

**New information for when reading! Any lines with** **around {these} them are being said by Yukiko, but obviously there is no sound so no one is hearing anything in the story.**

 **Also I will be keeping a sort of progress announcement on my profile for in between chapters so if it seems I'm taking a long time check that to so for an explanation.**

 **Disclaimer: Bleach is the creation and property of Tite Kubo**

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 **Chapter 3**

Yukiko was laying on a large futon in a dark room lightly lit by an arrangement of small candles spread throughout the room, the floor was all tatami with large red painted wooden pillars. She was laying on her back terrified as two men in traditional yukata and hakama were looming closely over her, smirking happily at the woman beneath them. One of the men held her two wrist tightly in one hand and used his other to yank her kimono open and ripped off her underwear while the other carelessly shrugged out of his robes and loosed his pants, revealing an already standing penis. Yukiko stared hollowly at the dark wooden ceiling above her, she won't fight these men. Yukiko learned the hard way long ago that resisting only gets her punished. She may not be allowed to fight back, but she refused to give them the satisfaction of hearing her scream or cry. She held her tongue, not uttering one sound as the now naked man forced his way painfully into her. The man holding her hands down used his free hand to grip her exposed right breast, playing with it while having a sick smile on his face. All the while the man between her legs was continuously forcing himself in and out of her, causing her body to experience an intense heat making her feel like she was being engulf in hellfire. _When will this end?_ Yukiko questioned to herself. _No more. I want this to end._

Her gaze hazed over as she tried to ignore the painful fire coursing through her until something odd happened. The fire's heat intensified but she no longer felt any pain from it, only searing pleasure that she never felt before. The man holding her wrists and toying with her chest was gone and in place of the man carelessly forcing his way in and out of her body was a different man. This one had striking blue hair and equally blue and brilliantly shining eyes boarder by odd green lines. Just as attention getting as his colors was the piece of skull like jaw placed over the right side of his cheek and jaw, hiding part of his mouth which was pulled in a wide grin that should've terrified her but instead sent shivers down her spine that she somehow enjoyed. As this strange man pulled out then pushed into her slowly but strongly she felt only happiness and pleasure in it, being unable to stop the blissful sigh that escaped her. The more he thrusted in and out of her the more erotically she sighed until she started moaning out in pleasure. The man never stopped his movements, even as he leaned down and whispered huskily into her ear, "So you do have a nice voice. Huh, Yukiko?"

For whatever reason the sound of her name on the mysterious man's lips woke Yukiko from her dream, sitting up as she came to grasp the fact that she was back in the little apartment. She was panting deeply and her body was still feeling the heat from the dream. When she put her hand over heart to feel it hammering away and a sensation pleasure pulsed through her causing her to jolt slightly. Not knowing what else to do, Yukiko snaked her hand down past her pants and underwear feeling that her own core was slick and hot. She began rubbing at herself feeling the intense pulsing pleasure of the action radiating through the rest of her body. As her right hand worked at her lower region her left reached up under her shirt and began playing with her chest, having two of her fingers trace and play with her nipple. Both the acts together left her little strength to hold herself up, so she fell forward onto her futon instead, panting hard and voicelessly moaning. The dream had already sent Yukiko into an intense high and her body didn't need much more provoking to be pushed over the edge, releasing an ever silent moaning scream as she did.

She removed her hands and wrapped them around herself as her body cooled, turning herself until she looked up at the open window that loomed over her. _I guess it's a good thing Grimmjow never came back. I don't know what I would've done if he was here. Definitely not that._ She thought, embarrassed. It had been four days since she found the oddly spiritually charged cat. She offered her apartment for him to come and stay but he never took her offer up. _He seemed like a proud little creature. Probably wouldn't accepted help even to save his own life._ Closing her eyes, Yukiko saw an image of the blue haired man from her dream and felt a surge of heat run through her, though not as intense as before as his face was quickly fading from her memory. _Who was that? That wasn't a normal dream, either. Some kind of partial glimpse?_ Yukiko considered the possibility that the dream was actually caused by her premonition power. It was harder for her to tell them apart from her mind just roaming when they came in her sleep, not that they're ever clear cut images or scenes, they almost always required some kind of interpretation.

She sat up again and stretched her arms out and arching her back, feeling a ripple of small cracks through her spine between her shoulder blades. _I'll just clean myself up. Don't feel like going back to sleep anymore._ Trotting over to one of the two doors in her apartment that didn't go to the hallway, Yukiko entered her tiny bathroom and stripped off her sweat dampened pajamas and underwear and rinsed herself off thoroughly with warm water. She took her time since it's not like she had anything else to do until her meeting with a client in the late morning. _Actually, the futon can stand to be cleaned. I can't remember the last time I did it._ With the decision made the girl turned off the water and toweled herself dry. Dressing in a black, light skirt and loose fitting light blue t-shirt, Yukiko gathered up her futon, sheet and blanket and hauled it down the hallway into the building's laundry room and filled up two of the three washing machines with her bed supplies. Luckily the manager of the building invested in an extra-large washing machine for the tenets futons, which saved her from having to carry it four blocks over to a public cleaners. Finding a clean space on the floor, Yukiko sat down against the wall and waited.

()

 _How big is this damn city?_ Grimmjow had been searching the city for four days now and found no signs of the Shinigami that got him in is current predicament. At least he was better adjusted to his new body. It was essentially the same as his adjunchas body, only smaller and thousands of times weaker. The sun had gone down hours ago and his fatigue was starting to significantly slow him down. _I guess I'll just find a place to sleep._ The Arrancar scanned his surroundings for someplace that would be difficult of a human to get to, but easy enough for him, and settled on the top of a concrete wall that lined some of the sidewalks. Jumping up on top of a trash can then up to the top of the wall he curled up into a circle and allowed his body to start relaxing, thinking not for the first time about the mute woman's offer. As much as he hated accepting help, he found his current sleeping arrangement of anywhere he might avoid being bothered to be less than comfortable while on the other hand he remembered how soft the futon in her apartment had been. _Maybe I should try finding my way back?_ I questioned briefly. Truth be told he didn't even remember how to get back to the apartment. He didn't expect it to be this difficult to find the Shinigami and hadn't bothered remembering what building the woman lived in. Needless to say, he was regretting that assumption. Taking a deep breath that was meant to be a sigh Grimmjow stretched the tension from his limps and drifted off into sleep, his legs all splayed out as he would in his real body.

He didn't wake up until he heard and felt thunder reverberate through his ears and body. Looking up at the sky with sleepy eyes Grimmjow saw that it was covered in dark purplish black clouds. While he had never experienced a storm in his life as a hollow the instinctual knowledge his memories of his human life that he can't be bothered to even try to actively remember told him he should find cover. He jumped down from the wall and moved in at a quick trot down the sidewalk, dodging the humans running for cover that for once ignored him, searching for something sturdy that will shield him from the inevitable down pour. Grimmjow picked up his pace by a lot when raindrops began hitting him, darting down the pavement and scanning his surroundings for anything resembling shelter. He settled on a metal garbage can lid that was propped up against the wall when it came down to choosing between that and getting soaked as the few raindrops multiplied into countless bullets of water pelting him. It was loud under the metal lid but dry, so he sat down and glared angrily at the sight of the intense rain, shaking the water off of his head. The bright lightning flashing across his vision was immediately followed by a load boom that shook through his whole body. To make the whole situation worse strong winds started blowing through the trash lid that he was hiding under, making it wobble.

 _Shit. That isn't going to hold._ Almost as if his thoughts were a jinx, the lid blew away from its place over him and skidded across the pavement, leaving him exposed to the painfully heavy rain. He wanted to get out from it so he ran once again until he found a small overturned cardboard box that was better than nothing and actually weighed down with some other pieces of garbage on top of it. Dashing in, Grimmjow shook the rain off his whole body, and curled up in a corner of the box that must've been beneath some of the garbage as it was the only one that didn't have any rain leaking through. As he once again glared out into the outside of his new protection the Arrancar cursed unhappily, _I officially HATE the fucking rain._

With nothing to do but wait it out, Grimmjow tried to sleep but the booming thunder would always prevent him from successfully dozing. Instead he tried licking the water off of his fur. The action felt stupid to him but his body did it anyways, and when he finally stopped he tightened the circle he made with his body and watched the continuously pouring rain behind the tip of his angrily twitching tail and shivering body. His view of the flooding street was suddenly blocked by a pair a feet that were covered in slick red boots. Picking his head up as the person the feet belonged to knelt down and it was surprisingly a face he recognized; it was the mute woman's reddish-brown eyes looking at him curiously. She then let out a sigh and what looked like an exasperated smile. When Grimmjow saw her hand reach in for him he immediately growled at her, but whether she couldn't hear him or simply chose to ignore it he wasn't sure as she swiftly and confidently grabbed him by the skin at the back of his neck. The moment he felt the pressure from her grasp Grimmjow felt an odd impulse to go limp, and she dragged him out of the box though he was still shielded from the water by her umbrella. She held him up to her eye level and just stared at him blankly as he glared hatefully back at her. He saw her lips move, but didn't catch what she was mouthing, before she pulled him against her shoulder as if to hug him and released her grip so that she was gently pressing him against her shoulder instead. He dug his claws into her shirt and considered trying to tear her up but she was warm and dry and very likely taking him back to her sheltered apartment with the soft futon that he could sleep comfortably on, so Grimmjow allowed her to carry him instead.

The walk wasn't very long, perhaps ten minutes, before they entered a building. _I was this close to her building, huh? Probably further than I hoped from that damn Shinigami's shop than. I must've been going in circles._ The Arrancar cat realized unhappily. Once inside the building, the woman, _Shit. What was her name? Yukine? Yukimura? No. Yukiko._ Yukiko took them through another door and then they were in her room. She took off her boots and set down a large and thin square black case that hung from her other shoulder and then carried Grimmjow through another door. They entered an incredibly small room where the floor was entirely tile which also extended half-way up the walls and coming from the wall was a serious of nozzles and a tube. _Wait this is a bathroom. What's she planning to do?_ At first Grimmjow thought she was going to take a bath but was horrified when he realized she wasn't taking off her clothes and instead gripped him by the skin at his neck again and pulled him away from her body. He started hissing and growling at her as she mechanically turned the nozzles so that water came out of the sprayer and she moved her hand out to feel it as it came out. Once she was apparently satisfied she pulled the sprayer from its holder and started hosing down Grimmjow, who screamed angrily in protest. The water was warm sure, but he was still not in the mood for any part of this situation. After his whole body had been rinsed with the warm water she turned it off and for the first time since finding him in the box put him down. The angry Grimmjow half-sprint half-slid to the far corner of the room and glared at her. _Who does this bitch think she is?!_ He was watching her every move, the next time she reached for him, he was taking her arm off.

Yukiko had stepped out of the room and immediately came back with a large white towel. She took a step forward to put it on him but Grimmjow hissed at her when she did.

She got an unhappy frown on her face and started to mouth words again, though this time he did catch it, {"Ungrateful little bastard. You needed to warm up, plus you were filthy."} She sighed and dropped the towel. {"Dry yourself off then."} After that she left the room.

Grimmjow figured she hadn't expected him to know what she was saying but he actually did as he knows how to read lips. Once she was out of view he creeped over to the towel and buried himself in it. It was soft and didn't have any kind of old scent to it, probably freshly cleaned. He started rubbing his body around in it and when he was satisfied that he was dry enough he silently stalked out of the bathroom. Looking around the small room he saw Yukiko at the refrigerator pulling out a plastic container with already cooked food. Grimmjow hopped onto the table and sat down, expecting her to now start cooking as she fed him last time he was there. Yukiko turned and looked at him, then stepped over to the little board on her refrigerator and wrote a message to him. **"I'm just going to warm up my dinner from yesterday for now. I'll cook fresh food later."**

 _Whatever. I take what I can get right now._ The knowledge that he was indeed getting warm food very soon was all Grimmjow could bring himself to care about right now.

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 **And done! Holy crap that first part was awkward to write! I've never written explicit material so sorry if you can feel my awkwardness about it coming through. Review/comment or correct me on anything you find grammatically wrong; take your pick I appreciate it all.**

 **Yay Comments! (´** **｡** **•** **ω •** **｡** **`) :**

 **darkangelynn5: Thank you, very much appreciated! :)**

 **Mrs. Swordslover: Thank you. And my OC's being annoying is my biggest concern when making them, so I'm seriously happy that you don't think Yukiko is :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**In super awesome, fuck yeah, kick-ass news D. Gray Man is back! If you're a fan and you haven't found the new chapter yet I suggest you do! It is a holy shit bomb shell of new information to the story!**

 **-This has been kick-ass news with Amelie'sHuman**

 **Sorry for the wait! I was having trouble deciding how to start then end the chapter, and ended up totally rearranging the events in it. Oh well. Here we go for chapter 4!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its character. They are the creation of Tite Kubo**

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 **Chapter 4**

Not long after they ate their lunch Yukiko wrote to the cat that she was going to take a nap, then she unfolded the futon that was sitting under the now closed window and quickly fell asleep. For a moment Grimmjow was angry about being trapped in the little apartment but then decided it didn't matter as he wouldn't have gone outside in the continued downpour anyways. Feeling bored, he felt a huge yawn come over him. _First I'm bored shitless in Hueco Mundo. Now I'm bored shitless in the World of the Living._ Stretching his whole body down and forward, he released another yawn. _Maybe I should just take a nap too._ Grimmjow stared at the futon, looking for an open space on the soft material for him to lay on. Then curling up at a corner at the foot of it, he closed his eyes for his own nap.

Breathing in and out evenly, Grimmjow was easily being lulled into a comfortable sleep. His mind started fading from coherent thought as it hazed over until it faded from being aware of the world around him. Just in time for him to be kicked about a foot and a half off the futon. He sailed over the floor with startled yowl then landed on the tatami floor. Pissed off, Grimmjow was about to attack the person who just kicked him but when he realized that the person in question was a still sleeping woman. As psychotic as everyone considered him to be, Grimmjow was not one to attack a defenseless or wounded person.

No longer in the mood to try and nap, the Arrancar took this as an opportunity to inspect her room a bit more thoroughly than he had the first time. There wasn't anything new or that had gone unnoticed about the room, but this time he did look at the something hidden under a white sheet with curiosity. Trotting to it, he began pawing at it only to become annoyed at not being able to properly grip it. Adjusted or not there were still some moments of trying to use his hands as hands. Using his claws to snag onto the cloth, Grimmjow successfully pulled the sheet down, revealing a tree crowned with pink flowers looking like it was glowing before a golden-orange sky. _Holy shit. This is a painting, right?_ Sure enough, when he placed a paw up to the picture it was a canvas. _Did she make this?_ Now his curiosity was in overdrive. As he looked over the painting he saw a bunch more leaning up against the wall behind the tree one.

Wedging his paw behind the first canvas, he pushed it down and it hit the floor with a dull thud. The Next painting was a black butterfly with red edging the bottom wings and a black cat with golden eyes. The butterfly standing on a strawberry while the cat lay curled up watching it peacefully from the side. Quickly losing interest in this picture Grimmjow started pushing his paw behind it to pull it down, but just as he got his fingers hooked onto the wooden frame a loud knock was at the door.

The loud noise stopped him and he heard Yukiko shift under her blanket before she sat up with an irritated look on her face. He watched as she glared at the door before jumping up to open it when the loud knocking came again. Behind the door was a smiling man in a white shirt and brown suit jacket. "Hello Yuki-chan. How are you today?"

Grimmjow couldn't see her face but he could still see the rigid posture from her irritation. Then the man took a tone that sounded mockingly hurt to him. "Don't tell me you forgot about today's lesson."

At the question Yukiko seemed to have crossed her arms, prompting the man to say in a joking tone that kind of sounded creepy in Grimmjow's opinion, "I'm just joking. I'm here to drop off your month's allowance."

As he was saying that he dug into a pocket in his jacket and held out an envelope, which she took quickly and roughly. Then the man paused and looked at Grimmjow. "Why is there a cat here?"

He sounded a little annoyed, which in turned annoyed Grimmjow. To both the man's and Arrancar's surprise the girl abruptly pushed him out of the doorway and closed the door in his face. She locked it and walked over to the table. Sitting with her legs crossed, Yukiko opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of small paper. Curious, Grimmjow left his place at the paintings and sat on the table to get a better look at the material in her hands. _So that human money. Why give something as frail as paper any value?_ He wondered. Money. Television. Most of the foods he'd seen the past few days. So many things about the World of the Living were just pointless to him.

Grimmjow's eyes followed one of her hands, curious at what she was doing, as she tucked a handful of her reddish tinted hair behind her ear and began quickly flicking through the stack money. The Arrancar barely glanced at her hands now as he was preoccupied with looking at her face. He had been too impatient and irritated with his situation earlier and the first time they met to really take any notice but now that he was calm and not going anywhere for the time being he saw that she was actually very pretty. Beautiful even, if he ignored her temperamental seeming personality. Because he was watching her face Grimmjow caught her lips moving when she silently said to herself. {"Tch. This is less than last month asshole."}

She took the money with her to the refrigerator and when she opened it, Yukiko shoved most of the cash into a small milk carton. When she turned back to face him, Grimmjow cocked his head to the side in confusion. He may not know a whole lot about human living habits but he was certain that putting money into a refrigerator is not normal.

Yukiko smirked at the cat and pulled the board off the door and wrote, **"I can't leave my money laying out in the open, and it could get stolen. But what thief would go through a refrigerator looking for money?"**

 _Can't argue with that. Though I can't figure out what made her think to start doing that._ Was the only thing Grimmjow could think of in response.

Yukiko once again started scribbling on the board. **"I'm going to have to go out and buy food for dinner. I can't leave the window open because of the rain so if you stay you'll still be stuck in here."**

Grimmjow thought about it. Go outside where it's still raining, or stay locked up in this tiny room? As much as he didn't want to go outside, he was bored senseless inside like this, so he walked over to the apartment's door signaling that he would like to go. Besides, it's as good of an opportunity as any to get a good sense of where the apartment was for future references.

()

Yukiko walked at a leisurely pace, making sure to hold her umbrella straight up so that it would do a better job of ensuring that the cat at her heels would stay dry. When she said that she was leaving and was going to have to leave the window closed, Yukiko didn't expect him to follow her to buy food. More than anything though she didn't expect that man to come to her apartment. _Shit. I was hoping Grimmjow wouldn't be around whenever Shimata would come by. Figures it would happen the first day he's back._ Shimata was the government agent in charge of Yukiko and to say she didn't like him was a gross understatement. _My monthly allowance is probably going to be less next time after shutting the door in his face and him seeing Grimmjow._ She glanced down at the being in question, who was continuously scanning the sidewalks and streets. The walk to the grocery store was twenty minutes and it never bothered her, not even in the rain, though she did wish that she had gotten more sleep.

The whole twenty minute walk was quiet with the exception of the rain and an occasional passing car, no one bothering the girl walking with a cat. When she entered the store Grimmjow did too along with her, shaking the water off his feet when he did. Yukiko stared at him for a moment thinking to herself, _I'm pretty sure animals aren't allowed in here… Oh well, not my problem._ She grabbed a shopping basket and began walking down the aisles in search of something that looked good. She just sold a painting that she was commissioned to make so Yukiko had a decent amount of money at the moment regardless of the cut allowance, meaning they were going to get a good meal tonight. _I'm definitely feeling like salmon tonight._ She decided and made a quick direction change to the refrigerated section of the store, Grimmjow followed not too close behind.

Once there Yukiko felt the temperature difference and huddled her free arm closer while she inspected the various cuts of fish, looking for a thick one. While scanning the rows of raw food she caught sight of her tag-along up on his hind feet and stretching his body up as best he could to give himself more height so that he could get a better look at the plastic wrapped red meat. The sight made her chuckle, not that he could hear her. _He's really making me want to cuddle him, but he'd try to tear my face off if I even looked like I was going to try._ "Excuse me miss?" A young voice from behind her pulled Yukiko out of her mental dilemma.

She turned around to a light brown-haired girl wearing a middle school uniform and waited for her to say what she wanted. "Um… you know animals aren't allowed in the store, right?" She seemed almost nervous about saying something. Yukiko glanced back at Grimmjow, who had gone back to standing on all four paws and was watching the two girls, then she looked back at the girl in front of her. Sighing with a smile, she reached to her back pocket for her writing pad and pen, but quickly became confused when she felt nothing there. Reaching at her other pockets Yukiko came to the realization that she hadn't remembered to take one with her. Looking down at the young girl who was watching her with a confused and slightly concerned look on her face, Yukiko did the only thing she could think to do. She put her index finger to her mouth, which was pulled into a sly smile, and nodded yes. Now the girl looked more confused than before but shifted her gaze to the cat.

The middle schooler stared intensely at Grimmjow, who was staring back, but the silent woman could spot him fidgeting ever so slightly. _Uncomfortable at getting stared at like that, huh?_

"Hmm…" The girl started. "I'm not sure what it is, but something seems kind of unusual about the little guy." Her words caught Yukiko by surprise, but not as much as seeing said girl start walking closer and reacting for the black cat. She could already see Grimmjow's ear start to pull back reflexively at someone reaching for him, _Is there anyone he won't be mean for wanting to touch him?_ She questioned as she thought about his excessive reactions from when she looked like she was going to touch the cat.

Yukiko grabbed the girl's arm firmly, stopping her in her tracks before she got too close. When she looked up at the woman, she just shook her head side to side to indicate that she shouldn't do that. "Yuzu. What are you doing?"

Letting go of the young girl's, of Yuzu's, arm they both looked down the aisle to see another girl in a middle school uniform, though this one had black hair pulled into a ponytail and an almost bored expression. Yuzu answered back, sounding like she was caught doing something she wasn't supposed to, "Nothing." She nodded goodbye to Yukiko than trotted to the black haired girl and began talking in what kind of reminded Yukiko of a motherly tone. "Did you find the green onion Karin?"

"Yeah. And some leeks." The girl, Karin, answered, in a tone that sounded as bored as she looked. But she did give Grimmjow and Yukiko a quick, inquisitive glance.

With the two girls walking away from her, Yukiko couldn't help but look more closely at the first one with all of her senses. She sensed something different about Grimmjow, so she must have some spiritual power, right? Focusing a little more Yukiko could feel a small amount of power from the girl, not even enough to normally be worth noticing. The other one, Karin, however had a surprising amount of raw power in her, though it seemed to be going untrained. The woman turned her attention to the cat with a glaring amount of power, especially by comparison, and he was wiping his paw over one of his ears roughly. _What's he trying to do? Because from this end he's just making himself look really cute._ It was borderline irritating that Grimmjow would react so violently to people trying to touch him despite the fact that he's just making himself more appealing to being plucked off the ground and snuggled violently by anyone with a love of cute things. {"Makes me wonder what he really looks like."} she thought out loud.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that Yukiko didn't notice the creature occupying them had stopped his grooming and was staring at her; when she mouthed her thought though he did something that caught her attention. Grimmjow stood on his back feet again and inhaled deeply, giving himself a bigger chest and taller appearance, and held his arms out slightly. The sight made Yukiko burst out laughing her pathetically silent laugh but she was too entertained to care about being self-conscious about it. She laughed hard and the cat put his body down and started what was probably glaring at her. After she calmed down a question crossed her mind, and she knelt down to be closer to Grimmjow's eye level and asked him, {"Can you read my lips?"}

He nodded yes.

She closed her eyes and silently hummed in thought over this new information, until she heard the sound of laughing boy and a growling cat. Looking back down to Grimmjow, she saw that he was growling and ducking away from a young boy who was running straight for him and apparently ignoring the obvious fact that the cat did not want to be approached. Yukiko once again found herself stopping someone from getting torn up by the small creature, grabbing his wrist and shaking her head no before pointing him towards a woman who seemed to be looking for someone. He wrestled his hand out of her light grip and stuck his tongue out at her and ran back to his mother calling out, "Meanie!" as he left.

Grimmjow was crouched down low, with his tail whipping violently as his tolerance for people seemed to be at its end. _I warned him people would try to treat him like a cat. Though people constantly trying to pet you and pick you up has got to be grating on the nerves._ Yukiko looked down at the salmon in her hands and looked over to the cat then sighed knowing she was about to lose out on her first choice meal. Picking up a cut of the red meat he was looking at earlier, she held them up to him to get his attention. {"Which do you want? Meat or fish?"}

Sure enough, he pawed at the meat cut and so the salmon was put back in its place and she started thinking out the meal they were now going to be having that night. _He better appreciate this._ She thought to herself. Looking down at the cat at her heels she could see that he was holding his head and tail a bit higher. While his appreciation level was up for debate, he was obviously pleased at having his choice of dinner. _Lucky you._ She thought slightly irritably as she finished her mental list and exited the store with her satisfied companion.

()

Grimmjow followed the girl back to her apartment under the safety of her umbrella, taking special care to memorize all of his surroundings both on the way there and back. He was happily surprised that she had given him the choice for what they will have for the meal. After all the shit he'd been through lately, he felt he deserved a lot more than just his choice of food, but it was a start.

When they came back to the inside of the apartment building, Grimmjow shook the water out from his paws and followed her to her front door. Unit 15, with her name "Yukiko Ametsuchi" on the unit number plate next to the door. _Best to remember that too I guess._

Once inside the girl went straight to the kitchen, two steps next to the door, while Grimmjow sat thinking about what he should do. Remembering that he was going through her paintings before getting interrupted he decided to resume that. Staring at the butterfly, cat and strawberry painting he finally pulled it down to look at the next one. The next one however left him shocked. It was a picture his, partially sheathed, Pantera.

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 **Yay Comments! (´** **｡** **•** **ω •** **｡** **`) :**

 **XD-kaycee: Thank you for saying my story is unique. I know what you mean about stories being similar, a lot of the time I feel like I'm reading the same story multiple times with different names for the OC. (nothing against the authors to those stories, I know it's a lot of work)**

 **On a side note, I love your Memories of Somebody story and am excited to see where it goes** (●'◡'●)

 **Ensavondel: I know the story flow is a bit wonky. It took me a few chapters to get a good flow on my other story too so hopefully I'll be able it get a comfortable flow going. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! Sorry for the wait. I wanted to get a few chapters out on my other story. Plus school started back up :/ Once I get one more chapter out on the other story I will devote more time to this one for a little while. For now enjoy the new chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: Bleach and all of it's characters are the property and creation of Tite Kubo**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

 _How the fuck is this possible?!_ Inspecting the painting closely, hoping to find some detail of the sword that was off, Grimmjow was shocked to find not even one. The jagged S shaped stuba, the shade of blue of its handle and scabbard, even the proportion of the blade's scabbard to the handle was right. It was illustrated with such precise detail that he was almost certain he could reach out to it and the real sword would be what he touches. Looking at the rest of the canvas now he took in the whole picture, seeing a hazy black and gray background and chains wrapping around the Zanpakuto. _Why is Pantera wrapped in chains?_ Not knowing what else to do he ran to the kitchen area and jumped onto the counter to start yowling at her.

Yukiko looked questioningly at the fidgety cat. Knowing he can't tell her what got him so riled, Grimmjow instead ran over to the painting and placed a paw on it. Yukiko followed him and looked at the painting then back to Grimmjow, then the two painting that had been yanked to the floor. She sighed loudly and collected the two paintings on the floor and placed them upright against the rest of them after pulling the one with Pantera aside. She turned her body to sit with her legs crossed and her back to the paintings, then placed the one in her hands down flat. When she did Grimmjow walked up and stood with the front half of his body on the canvas, putting his left paw longingly on the hilt.

He heard her start snapping her fingers. Tearing his eyes away from the painting, the Arrancar looked over at her, focusing on her mouth and face. {"Do you recognize the sword?"}

Grimmjow nodded yes.

{"Is it yours?"}

He nodded yes again.

{"So you're actually a Shinigami?"}

After pausing for a moment in confusion as to how she could know about Shinigami, Grimmjow growled angrily at being called one.

Yukiko looked confused again. {"You're not a Shinigami?"}

He shook his head no, though still angry with his ear pulled back slightly.

Her expression changed in thought. {"One of the evolved hollows then?"}

Once again, Grimmjow was taken back by her knowledge of things that no human outside Kurosaki and his little circle of friends should know about. So much so that he didn't nod an answer to her question. He must have looked like he was zoned out because Yukiko reached over and placed her index finger directly on his nose. When he realized that she was not just touching him, but his face, he growled and swiped her hand away with his claws fully extended. He could feel two of them rake across her finger, which she quickly pulled back to herself and examined the two little trails of blood. Looking down at the Arrancar with an angry frown she stood up and began running water from the faucet in the kitchen area over the scratches. After putting a little bandage on it she turned her head to glare at the cat but then resumed her work on their dinner, cutting up carrots from the looks of it, rather than doing anything to him.

From the sound of the knife on the wooden board she was cutting at a steady and fairly quick pace, going through vegetables rather quickly. The sound of the cutting was the only thing heard from inside the apartment while the tap of rain on the window supplied the rest of the noise. Grimmjow gave his Pantera one more look before deciding that the painting was obviously not going anywhere and trotted back towards the center of the room to try and look out the window but because of the angle all he could see was storm clouds which occasionally lit up with lightning which was followed by a rumble of thunder, that being the only sound that overpowered the sound of Yukiko's chopping.

Every chop made Grimmjow's ear want to twitch towards her in the kitchen. Until it didn't. When the chopping stopped he initially didn't think anything of it but had to turn around to look when it sounded like she was panting. He was right, she was panting. She was trying to walk away from the kitchen but seemed to be stumbling and her eyes looked hazy like she wasn't really seeing. By her fourth step she fell to the floor, not even catching herself as she hit the tatami flooring.

 _H-Hey!_ Grimmjow ran the tiny distance to her and inspected her face. Her eyes were open but her pupils had contracted completely shut and all he could see was the reddish-brown iris and the whites of her eyes. She wasn't moving and Grimmjow strained his hearing to listen for her heartbeat, which he couldn't hear either. He began relentlessly swatting her face with his paw trying to get her to wake back up. After a few seconds of this a hand waved the little paw away and her iris' opened back up to allow her vision to come back.

She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes gently. Grimmjow backed up a few steps and watched her closely in complete shock and confusion. She looked down at him through one half-lidded eyes while she continued to rub the other. She was still breathing deeper than normal but was no longer panting. {"It happens.} She mouthed to him then stood and returned to her work in the kitchen.

Grimmjow stood stiff and watched her in utter shock. _She passes out and is practically dead for a few seconds and all she has to say about the matter is "It happens"?! Just how messed up is this bitch?!_

()

After her little episode on the floor Yukiko finished preparing their meal. After all, if she doesn't cook than how will they eat? Besides it was just as she told the cat. Hollow. Not-really-a-Hollow Hollow. Whatever he was now. It happens. It's what happens when her premonitions come while she's awake anyways. _Good thing I can kind of feel them coming on or else one of these days I would fall face first onto a stove or something._ She thought with an odd smirk on her face. She knows it isn't something she should joke about but sometimes she couldn't help it. _Nui would probably cry if she heard such a joke._

Yukiko placed the hunk of meat that she had placed in a sweet apple marinade onto a tray and dumped all the cut carrots and potatoes around it before pouring the marinade over all of it and sliding it into the oven. _On second thought. Maybe she'd just be proud that all of her patience in teaching me to cook paid off so well._ She couldn't help but smile and chuckle to herself at the memory of her former caretaker trying her best to explain how to cook to Yukiko who had never set foot into a kitchen until she was 15. She can't even remember the number of times she set the food on fire or burnt it until it was a rock that first few months. Thankfully Yukiko eventually picked up of the art of cooking and it grew to become one of her favorite activities, especially after having to part ways with Nui.

Turning a dial kitchen timer to go off in 45 minutes and leaving it on her dinner table, Yukiko walked over to the row of paintings that Grimmjow took it upon himself to look through earlier, noticing that his eyes were still on her as she did. Carefully moving at the paintings out of the way she pulled a blank canvas off of the easel that was in the back and two boxes and a wooden palate that sat on top of them. Making herself comfortable at the table she opened one box that had a variety of pencils, small sponges and paint brushes stored in it and then other which was filled with many small tubes filled with different colors and bases of paint.

Taking a second to close her eyes and recall her vision to her mind she searched through the box of paints and grabbed a light shade of brown and applied a generous to the wooden pallet. Using one of the thicker brushes she began coating the bottom half of the canvas. Painting was something she can't remember ever not doing. Translating her mental images to physical images is a form of communication that she was better at than she had even been at speaking even when she had a voice. When she started painting Yukiko became very zoned in on her work and forgot the rest of the world. Only taking her eyes off of the canvas to rummage through her boxes for different colors or brush sizes and one of her sponges. Without realizing that so much as a minute passed she was drawn out of her painting daze by the irritating ringing of the little timer she set down next to her.

When she looked up from her picture she took a quick look around to take in her surroundings as if she had completely forgotten where she was. She stopped her little survey when she saw a black cat sitting just next to her box of paints. _When did he jump up here?_

He was staring at her with great intensity and it was starting to make her a little nervous. {What?}

Grimmjow mewed in response then quietly growled and looked away. _Right. He can't say what he's thinking any more than I can. Actually I can at least write what I have to say and mouth words while he can't even do that._ Yukiko felt a slight pang of guilt about forgetting that fact. While she got up to turn off the oven and pull the meat out Yukiko tried to think up some way of communicating with the Hollow-cat. The most obvious would be yes or no questions. _It do that until we can work something a bit better for him out._

Sitting back down she tapped the table to pull his attention back to her face. {Do you what to see what I'm working on?}

He shook his head no.

 _Right. He probably saw it when I got up._ She took a quick look at the incomplete painting and realized that at the moment it was just a picture of a children's park with some trees, a clock, a swing set, a tunnel structure, and partially completed climbing cage. {It's not finished. When it is it will make more sense. It's the warning that my episode on the floor was about.}

A cock to the head was the next response she got.

{What about that makes no sense? How it's a warning or how it's connected to me being on the floor?"}

Grimmjow meowed twice, which to her best assumption meant the second option.

{"My spiritual power gives me little peeks into what's going to happen but it usually isn't entirely literal. A lot of the time I see people and some objects as something other than what they are. Take the painting of your sword for instance. For both Shinigami and evolved Hollow the sword is a physical container for your full power. Right?"}

He nodded yes after it became apparent that she was waiting for him to either confirm or deny her words.

{"That I saw your sword in chains and trying to pull itself out of the scabbard was probably a way of telling me that your power was going to be trapped and you want to take it back. I painted it about a week ago, I'm guessing that's before this happened to you. Unfortunate really."}

Grimmjow looked away from her now, not nodding or shaking his head at all. She waited patiently for him to respond in some way but eventually he glanced back at her pulled his ears back and growled slightly, getting up and turning his back to her effectively ending their "conversation". Yukiko frowned with a sigh then sat the boxes down off to the side and cleared some space for the food, which should have cooled enough for them to eat by now.

She set down a plate for the cat with a bowl of water but resumed painting rather than eating. When she finished it was a picture of a park but a drooling skeleton had torn a hole in the sky and was trying to crawl out. The clock read 2:27 and there was a black and red butterfly fluttering just above the clock face. This was something that she was vaguely used to seeing actually. A Hollow was going to invade the park at 2:27 AM some night soon and a Shinigami will come to fight and likely cleanse it. The mindless Hollows were almost always giant skeletons, it was only the ones that were able to think that were different creature to creature. And Shinigami were always the same butterflies unless there was something specific that required one to be set apart. Visions of a Hollow and Shinigami fight were nothing new and honestly not worth the cost of the paint or canvas but she needed to put it down. It was like an itch that only got worse the longer she ignored it and drawing usually didn't cut it, at least not the ones that involved something violent.

After finally finishing the painting she placed it down on top of the sheet that was previously covering all of the finished ones and put together a plate for herself. The food had gotten cold after being left uneaten so long but it still tasted good enough, and it supplied enough left over for a small hand full of meals. Yukiko cleaned the kitchen and the table without any interruptions from her, once again, upset house guest. When she was done she realized why. He had fallen asleep in the center of her futon. Putting off waking the temperamental little creature as long as she could, the girl took him sleeping as an opportunity to change into her pajamas without having to leave the room and did a usual routine of brushing her hair and teeth and washing her face and using the toilet one more time before going to sleep.

When waking Grimmjow could no longer be avoided she opted to use one of her paint brushes to poke him awake him up rather than risk another scratch on her hands. He, predictably, snapped awake and swiped violently at the object that had disturbed his sleep. Apparently calming after his initial attack he looked at her expectantly. {"You need to get up so I'll have room too."}

He groaned slightly but lazily complied, slinking over to the side but still taking up a decent amount of space for a cat. Too tired to try and coax the Hollow over more and not wanting to deal with him being extra pissy from being shoved any further, Yukiko slid in next to him and stopped when she felt his small body against her stomach. She groaned silently at the fact that he was laying on top of the blanket which prevented her from pulling it over her whole body, leaving a bit of her exposed to the colder air outside her blanket. Sighing in resignation at this being the most comfortable she'll be able to get for the night, she then mindlessly said {"Goodnight Grimmjow."} and closed her eyes for the short amount of time it took for sleep to get her.

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 **Yay Comments! (´** **｡** **•** **ω •** **｡** **`) :**

 **La Buena: I'm sorry for the long wait. Thank you for saying that Grimmjow seems in character, it's constantly a worry of mine. Hope you enjoyed the update.**

 **XD-kaycee: Aw you liked the ending? It felt evil to me and I wrote it ;) And you definitely didn't disappoint with your update, I thoroughly enjoyed it**

 **Mrs. Swordslover: Hehe I was pretty evil with that last line. I briefly considered including Ichigo in the store scene but decided it isn't time for him to see kitty Grimmjow just yet. I want her to cuddle him too but I need it to go along with his character too so it's going to be tricky, just know I'm working out a way to do it.**

 **Midnight-Knightmare: 1. Love your pen name. 2. Adore your picture. 3. Thank you for the compliment, I really hope you liked the new chapter.**

 **Insanity runs through my vains: Thank you for the repeated reviews! I'm sorry for the wait but I hope I didn't disappoint.**

 **Alright everyone: PEACE!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello beautifully patient people! So it's very, very delayed but as promised I officially announced that I am on break from the other story so I am all yours (and school and work) for the rest of the year! I will be aiming for getting at least two more chapters out by January but writing isn't a science so the chapters can take longer or shorter to write. Alright! I've delayed you enough so let's go!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its character. They are the creation of Tite Kubo**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Grimmjow slowly started to wake up despite not really wanting to. _Gotta pee._ He thought lazily. Silently pushing his legs out as far as they could go and spreading his toes out from there, the cat stood with a yawn. Unfortunately when he looked up at the window to go outside he saw that it was still closed due to the previous rain, which had finally stopped.

Jumping up to the windowsill, he did his best to examine it and figure out how to open it. It seemed simple enough, just push it to the side. So he put his paw on the frame for the piece of glass that should slide and pushed at it. Yet nothing happened. Grimmjow felt himself growl slightly at the resistance and pushed with both paws. Using more and more force and he even heard a groan coming from the plastic frame but when it suddenly moved he lost his balance and fell off of his perch and landed feet first onto Yukiko's chest and neck. When he hit her the impact woke her up and she, accordingly, shot upright throwing him down onto her lap.

After about a second of scanning her surroundings Yukiko looked down at Grimmjow who was glaring hatefully at the window. It had moved, but only slightly and only the bottom, making it crooked. _How the hell am I going to open it now?_

He was too busy planning his next attack on the window to notice that the woman's attention was on him but when Yukiko grabbed him and set him down next to her, it was hard not to notice. She stood up and closed the window, then using both hand to grip the top and bottom of the frame it slid open easily for her. {"Sorry to say, but it gets stuck unless you push on the top and bottom of it."}

 _Terrific._ The Arrancar though sarcastically. Jumping up easily, he looked over at her from the now open window then jumped down onto the wet grass. There was a point to him needing to go outside after all.

()

Now that Grimmjow was out of the apartment Yukiko was free to snuggle into her blankets as much as she wanted. Once comfortable she hummed silently in her contentment. She took a quick peek up to the window to look at the sky and decide whether or not she should leave it open or wait a little and see if Grimmjow will come back. It was still too cloudy to see any stars or the moon from her view point; it looked like it could start raining again but she also kind of doubted that it would. Turning her gaze over to the clock on the microwave sitting on the refrigerator it read 1:42. _No wonder it's so dark. Where would Grimmjow have to go at almost 2 in the morning?_

Yukiko sighed, already knowing that she isn't going to go back to sleep just yet. After giving herself one more second of comfortable warmth she got up and waved her arm around the air as she walked forward until she found a string and pulled it, filling the room with light. The instant brightness hurt her eyes but she gave it about a minute and she could see again. She pulled a pair of jean shorts and a grey t-shirt from her dresser, and changed into them then grabbed her rain boots. Yukiko then turned off the light and put them on out in the hallway. She locked her door and then left the building.

The moment she stepped outside the chilled air hit her, reminding her that it was already the start of autumn despite the intense storm that made every that much more humid. And colder. _I won't be long, no point in changing._ She told herself and proceeded to the find the park. The one in the painting looked like it was the park not that far from her building so she should be able to get there around the time that the Hollow will appear, and Shinigami seem to typically be quick to respond so she doesn't think it will be too dangerous. _Nui said to always know what the local Shinigami looks like every time I relocate. Better to find out now than later, right?_

As she walked she hear a cat mew. Looking around she saw that it was Grimmjow sitting in her open window, looking inside. She whistled to get his attention. He heard her and jumped down from the windowsill to stand, glaring, in front of her. _Seriously? He's a cat, how can he glare?_

{"Since you woke me up I decided that I wanted to go and see this town's Shinigami."}

She heard Grimmjow growl slightly but didn't think anything of it. He seems to always be grumpy.

{"You can come or not. I really don't care. If you do stay do me a favor and actually leave me some room on the futon for when I come back though."}

With nothing else to say to the cat, Yukiko proceeded to the park and was slightly surprised that Grimmjow followed behind. _I thought for sure he wouldn't want to bother with coming._

It was a bit of a long walk but the activity helped keep her from feeling too cold from her severely underdressed state. The woman kept her mind occupied with questions of what this Shinigami might look like, or how strong he or she is. In the constant moving she had done Yukiko had come across many Shinigami, not that any ever saw her as any different than any other human, and they were all so different. It was almost a game to her at this point: how strange is this Shinigami? It's childish, she knows, but she had to make it interesting somehow or else she wouldn't be able to motivate herself to check them out at each new town, every six months, otherwise.

The pair made it to the park at, according to the clock standing at its center, 2:02. Yukiko stared at the clock confused. {"That can't be right. I left the apartment at about 1:45 and it's at least a thirty minute walk.}

She looked down at the cat at her feet who was looking around the area. Just then a breeze blew around her. It was weak but it was enough to remind her that she was not dressed properly and this little walk having just been extended made her greatly regret not taking the extra few minutes to change into warmer clothes. Shivering and rubbing her hands up and down her arms to try and warm herself up, she search for something to hide in, both from the wind and the Hollow once it arrives.

Opposite of the cage-like climbing dome was another dome shaped jungle-gym, this one was solid with holes for children to climb in and out of. It looked like her best option so she approached it. Lucky for her the hole were actually large enough for an adult to go through, probably in case a child became hurt inside, so she jumped in. Picking a spot that gave her a good view to the climbing cage she sat down on the mulch beneath and tried to make herself comfortable, pulling her legs in close and rubbing her hands together to create some warmth. From where she sat, Yukiko could see Grimmjow trot around the park, apparently checking it out. He doesn't seem all that grumpy right now. Or perhaps it was because she was looking at him from a distance.

It didn't take all that long for the cat to abandon his curiosity and make his way over to dome that Yukiko was taking shelter in. He sat down in front of her and yawned.

{"I told you, you didn't have to come."} Yukiko told him.

He just continued to stare at her since he can't exactly retort.

{"Are you curious about the Shinigami too?"}

Grimmjow shook his head no.

 _But as a Hollow wouldn't he want to know his enemy?_ It didn't take long for Yukiko to come up with a new question. {"Have you been to this town for long?"}

Another shake of no.

{"Was there any reason you came to Karakura?"}

This time he nodded yes. _Oh._ She understood now.

{"Have you been here before?"}

Another nod yes.

{"Do you already know who the Shinigami is?"}

Yes again.

With how cooperative Grimmjow is being Yukiko was starting to grow a bit excited. It was amazing how much she missed having someone to talk to. Too bad he can't talk back. {"I'm sorry for only asking such simple questions. I'm just not sure what else I could say that will let you be able to reply."}

At this Grimmjow swiped the back of head a couple of times with a front paw and looked off to the side for a moment before looking back.

Yukiko chuckled. {"Are scratching your head? Does that mean you don't mind then?"}

He looked away, not answering. She sighed and checked the time on the clock. 2:10. _Almost there._ She told herself, pulling her legs in tighter and rubbing her arms at a bit of a quick pace. _Cold…_ She thought miserably.

She unexpectedly felt something soft and fuzzy push its way in between her chest and legs. Grimmjow leaned against her bare legs and appeared to make himself comfortable with is back to her face. Yukiko curled in closer to the cat, trying to get as close as she can to him without moving or putting pressure on him, fearful that he might leave his spot if she did something he didn't want to tolerate. She curled herself so that arms were hugging her legs and her face rested lightly against him. _So warm. So soft._ She thought with a smile. _I wonder. Is he this warm because he's in a cat body? Or is he always like this? Then again, maybe it's just that I'm cold._

Honestly, no matter the answer, Yukiko was grateful for the creature in her lap and felt like she was starting to doze off. She slowly came to realize that she was putting more weight on Grimmjow with her head and chest but he didn't seem to mind much seeing as he didn't move. _Whatever made him decide to come along, I'm happy._

Time passed slowly but she didn't mind so much now. This was the first time Grimmjow came into contact with her on his own and she wanted to enjoy it. His fur really was soft. It wasn't until she felt the familiar sensation of a rift opening that she was pulled out of her musings. Though it isn't so much as a feeling of something opening as is tearing. In fact it used to be a bit painful but she's grown used to the sensation so it doesn't bother her anymore.

She pulled her head off of her Grimmjow pillow and looked towards the swing set placed at the far end of the playground. She watched as the air seemed to turn into a set of jaws that opened wide for the World of the Living's new guest to come through. Grimmjow shifted in her lap and she looked down to see him looking on as well. The Hollow that came out reminded Yukiko of an ogre and its' mask had a human nose, ears and what looked like lips outlined the teeth. It didn't seem to be powerful either. She felt safe in the dome but if it does notice her before the Shinigami comes she was confident that she could outrun it. It's not like it would be her first Hollow encounter after all. Hell, it wouldn't be her hundredth Hollow encounter.

The Hollow roared and stomped around but seemed utterly unaware of Yukiko and Grimmjow watching from the cover of the play dome. {"What a stupid Hollow."}

She should be afraid of it. She has no means of protecting herself after all, but she wasn't. The cat on laying on her legs seemed to be equally calm despite the fact that he was even more vulnerable than her. Yukiko expanded her extra sense carefully so as to not alert the clueless creature stomping around brainlessly. It took a minute but she eventually felt a spike of spiritual pressure from a bit of a distance and then it started moving in at an incredible speed. Faster than any Shinigami she's ever encountered. The presence would be at the park within seconds. {"Finally. Let's get this show on the road."}

()

Grimmjow looked on as the pathetic excuse of a Hollow thrashed around like a toddler. Any real predator would have noticed that he and Yukiko were so close, but not this one. _Come on Kurosaki. Come here and kill this trash._ Grimmjow was getting impatient despite the fact that it hadn't even been a minute.

Not soon enough for the Arrancar's taste, the orange-haired Shinigami appeared, and the stupid Hollow gave him its full focus. "Honestly. It's the middle of the night. Can't you things come when I'm awake?" Ichigo complained.

Grimmjow tensed at the sight of his favorite opponent, his muscles coiled and his claws flexed repeatedly. He was so focused on watching as Ichigo effortlessly destroyed the Hollow with one swing that he forgot that he was laying on Yukiko. Which means he was actually clawing her legs. She pulled him off of her lap and instead held him tightly to her chest to restrain him. He didn't mind though. What probably hadn't occurred to her was the fact that she was practically squishing him against her boobs, something that he doesn't think he'd ever have a problem with. _Does she even realize that I've been able to see her nipples this whole time?_ He couldn't help but look frequently on the walk there. Appearance aside, he was still a man.

 _Ah! No, focus!_ Grimmjow pushed aside all thoughts related to the woman and brought his full attention to Kurosaki. The Shinigami was looking around now and then looked straight at the dome they were sitting in. _Shit! If he sees me like this I'll never hear the end of it!_

Needing to do something quick but with no way to out run Ichigo, Grimmjow pushed out of Yukiko's arms and burrowed himself between her back and the plastic structure just in time to hear the familiar _whoosh_ of a flash-step. Grimmjow could see him appear before Yukiko with his sword raised and then stop abruptly when he saw the woman, and a stupid and embarrassed look come over his face. Quickly putting the oversized sword behind his back as if it would hide it, the young man smiled and laughed awkwardly, "Ah, haha. Sorry miss, I thought you were someone else."

Grimmjow couldn't see her face but he doubted that Yukiko would say anything to him since it could only cause him to stick around longer for an explanation. What he could see was that Kurosaki tried to look at her with a calm face but then quickly looked away slightly blushing as if he saw something embarrassing.

"You don't seem surprised. Do you understand what just happened then?"

Grimmjow guessed she nodded yes.

"Anyways, it's safe now so you should probably hurry home. Do you need any help?" He asked awkwardly.

Grimmjow heard the soft swishing of Yukiko's long hair as it moved side to side from her shaking her head no.

"Alright. If you're sure. Be careful." He took a step back and disappeared from view with a flash-step.

After a second, Grimmjow moved from his hiding spot and jumped up through a hole and outside the dome. Yukiko followed a few seconds later. He was starting to get the hang of navigating from so low to the ground so he began back-tracking to the apartment building though he could feel her eyes on him as he did. He gave it about half of the walk back before giving up on her dropping whatever she was thinking and turned to look at her expectantly. It wasn't much of a wait before she ask her question. {"Do you have some kind of history with that guy?"}

He nodded yes, and mentally added, _I fuckin hate him._

{"He clearly was about to try and cut you in half. Did you come to Karakura to kill him?"}

 _That strike of his was completely half-assed. There was no way he did it expecting to actually hurt me._ Of course, there was no way for him to convey this so instead Grimmjow settled to answer her question and nodded yes.

Yukiko took his answer and rather than ramble off a dozen more questions like he was expecting, she resumed walking which was good by Grimmjow. Once they reached the building he opted to jump in through the window since it was faster as she walked around and in through the door. He noticed that she said {"I'm home."} before locking her door and removing her boots.

She grabbed her discarded pajamas from the floor and, sadly, went into the bathroom to change. _So she is aware that I'm a guy and not a cat._ The Arrancar thought, a bit disappointed. Though changed, Yukiko was still shivering slightly since the open window made the room just as cold as outside. She looked at Grimmjow and then the window. {"I'm closing it. It's too frickin cold in here."}

Grimmjow won't complain. He liked it better when the apartment room was toasty warm too, but how was that going to happen now? After closing the window she surprised him by scooping him up off the top of the blanket. Just as her was about to complain in a way that always worked, claws and hissing, she held him in front of her face and said very clearly. {"I don't care what you hate. You are the only warm thing here right now so you are sleeping under the blanket and close to me."}

He flattened his ear and groaned but didn't growl or complain. He may not get cold as easily as her since he has his fur, but he does still get cold and curling up on her benefits them both. That was why he did it at the park. Plus, he does owe her for everything she's done for him and he figures he should try and pay her back here and there. _Whatever._ He internally declared as she laid down and placed him against her upper stomach, just beneath the curves of her bust. He felt a slight irregularity in her breathing and figured she was saying something but he didn't care enough to find out. Instead he went to sleep.

* * *

 **Wahoo, Ichigo has made an appearance! And we got kitty-Grimmjow being a slight perv ;)**

 **Alrighty folks, I know the story is going pretty slow plot-wise but the pace will pick up quickly so if you're cringing at the amount of time it seems like it's going to take for the story to move along don't worry it will leave this snail's pace soon. And I will get started on the next chapter ASAP but just a fair warning I have some major assignments to work on at the moment so ASAP might not be until late next week. Until then, bye!**

 **Yay Comments! (´** **｡** **•** **ω •** **｡** **`) : Also warning. If your name doesn't show up in the comment shoutouts but you see my reply for some reason the website erases the occasional name when I'm loading the document and no matter how many times I edit it, the name won't stay.**

 **Midnight-Knighmare: Thank you for the sweet words.**

 **Insanity294: Thank you :)**

 **: It took a while but I finally have more for you :)**

 **cynicalpink130: Thank you, I love this story too, even if it doesn't seem like it. I will never abandon it. I'll leave the series only when it's finished.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the wait, writers block is a bitch. Now presenting: Chapter 7!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Grimmjow slowly stretched out his legs under the weight of something thick. He was still under the comforter, only there was no Yukiko now. As tempted as he was to get out from under the slightly suffocating blanket, the memory of the chilled apartment the previous night was making him reluctant to leave the toasty space. He officially decided to just stay put and tried to go back to sleep but now that he was awake he was starting to heart gentle clatter and scrapping from outside the blanket space. Moving to the edge of the blanket he peeked his face out and was surprised that it was actually warm outside of it too. Leaving the blanket entirely, Grimmjow stretched again, this time arching his back, and looked towards the source of the noise. Which, of course, was Yukiko in the kitchen area.

He trotted over to the table and sat down on top of it. She was unaware that he had woken up and was still focused on her cooking. He yawned as he waited for her to finish. While watching her, the Arrancar noticed the oven was open and he could see waves of heat escaping the little space. _So that's why the apartment is so warm now._ Honestly it was so warm and comfortable to him in the room that Grimmjow was feeling very tempted to just take it easy and do nothing for the day but if he wanted his body back he couldn't take it easy and lay around. He had to find the shady Shinigami.

Yukiko turned a knob on the oven and the red glowing metal bars inside of it turned black with the power now cut off, and turned around with a bowl and plate in both of her hands, almost jumping in shock when she saw that Grimmjow was sitting on the table. She looked like she chuckled but her cheeks were a bit pink, like she was embarrassed. {"Good morning."} She said as she placed the bowl and plate down before going back to prepare a second set.

Grimmjow simply nodded in reply and looked down at the meal on her side of the table. Grilled fish and white rice. While he was studying the food his, smaller, share was placed in front of him and then she made one more trip for a glass of something orange and sweet smelling for herself and a bowl of water for him. He took a few mouthfuls of water first then made quick work of the grilled fish, not even really looking at the rice before staring at her fish. _Why should she get more?_ He thought irately. Looking up to see if she was watching, her eyes were closed and she looked like she was thinking as he munched on rice, Grimmjow took the two steps across the table and reached for her fish. Unfortunately for him all he got was his paw caught by a pair of chopsticks. He glared up at the unfair woman who glared down at him. They continued, both knowing full well that the first to break will be the one who doesn't get the fish. Grimmjow was certain he will outlast the human woman, a possible benefit of his current condition was that cats can watch something for much longer than any human. But it wasn't that easy; rather than try and out-glare Grimmjow, Yukiko used her perfect hold on his paw to lift him off balance and force him to stumble back to his side of the table. Once she let him go she pointed the sticks at him and said {"Eat your own food."}

She was about to take a piece of her fish but stopped and got up, taking the fish with her, to clean the chopsticks now that they've been used to handle a cat's paw. Grimmjow gave a low growl at her and looked at his rice. It was not nearly as appetizing looking so instead he investigated the sweet smelling, orange drink in her cup. It smelled a lot better than the rice. So how should he go about getting a taste? He considered just sticking his paw but that would be like drinking something that he stepped in and neither he nor Yukiko win with that. Maybe he could figure out a way to pick up the cup? It seemed like the only option so why not. Grimmjow settled on his back feet and gripped the glass with his paws and arms as best he could and just as lifted it off the table it was lifted away from him.

Yukiko looked down at him, holding the glass, and looked irritated. {"Are you trying to spill my juice all over the place?"}

Grimmjow flattened his ears and hissed at her. There was definitely something demeaning in the nonexistent tone of her voice. _Give me a taste of that damn drink woman!_ He shouted mentally pointing at the glass than his water with his paw. Yukiko sighed and picked up his water dumping it and poured a bit of the same orange drink in the bowl. Grimmjow took a few licks and decided he liked it much better than water, tapping the jug she had poured from to demand more; she complied, though was still frowning at him.

Between the orange juice, a few bites of rice and the quarter-a-fish Grimmjow would hate to admit it but he was already full. He didn't finish his meal and it turns out he was lucky that the woman had thwarted his attempt to take hers' because he'd probably feel disgustingly full if he had. She must have been giving him smaller portions than her all along but he never noticed because he was practically starving every meal. The reasoning felt obvious to him now: tiny body, tiny stomach. The Arrancar laid down and decided to let his meal digest a bit before leaving, as he did Yukiko finished her breakfast and cleared off the tabled of the food but left the bowl of left over juice. Grimmjow heard her put her elbow on the table as she sat down but didn't care, he was full and comfortable which was not a state that he often would be in before so he wanted to enjoy it for a few minutes.

He felt something bugging his stomach but he figured it was probably all of the food he ate. But the feeling didn't so much come from inside his stomach as outside. Utterly confused he lifted his head to look and saw that Yukiko was poking his belly, which was sticking up because of how he was laying. Grimmjow looked at her and growled deeply. She pulled her finger up but didn't retract her hand; instead she smirked and said {"You have a food baby."}

While Grimmjow had never heard that phrase before he could guess what it meant and hissed at the rude woman, swatting at her hand too since she was nice enough to leave it close to him. Yukiko was getting faster at avoiding his attacks though so all his claws caught was air. The Arrancar got up and jumped down the table and sat under the still closed window, he wanted to leave. Keeping his back turned purposely so that she wouldn't bother trying to say anything to him he waited until she got the message and came to open his window. It didn't take long, and he wasted no time in jumping up and through the opening. He landed in grass and was pleased that the previous night's chill was no longer present outside either.

Picking a direction, Grimmjow simply started walking. It's not like he has any clue where the Shinigami Shop is or any way of finding it other than searching on foot, but he would need to be smart about it even if it meant it might take a while. Since he can't remember how far he initially ran when he became a cat, or even what and where he made turns, only that he made some. Instead he would try to find the streets with a lot of people shopping since that was where he first saw his whole reflection and he knew it would at least mean he was on the right track. It would be helpful if he could find where Yukiko picked him up as a start but he has no way of communicating that to her.

It didn't take walking too many streets for him to realize that many of them looked similar, at least from his angle. He would have to pay close attention to the signs that identified each one as he passed by them if he hoped to remember his way back. He also caught himself passing by the same signs a few time, meaning the walkways had taken him in circles, something that he was not a fan of but it did give him some hope that there would be multiple ways of getting to where he needed to go rather than just getting lucky and finding the exact same way back.

Noticing a large patch of shade around him, Grimmjow decided that while it may not be as high as he's used to, a vantage point is still a vantage point. So he slipped through the bars on a gate and used his claws to shimmy his way up a tree. It gave him a decent view of the surrounding walkways and buildings; all houses he realized. He's probably not anywhere close to where he needs to go. _Maybe I should go ahead and turn around to try a different direction from the apartment._ He wondered to himself.

Done wasting his time going in a direction that was surely wrong, Grimmjow jumped down from the tree and when he was on the ground his sensitive ears detected a quiet and deep sound. His ear twitched in the direction of the source and he could tell that it was coming towards him quickly. The Arrancar turned to see his attacker and was faced with a large black and white dog charging directly at him, snarling and barking. Fortunately for Grimmjow, animals like dogs have no clue how to adapt when the animal they perceive as prey doesn't act like it. Rather than bolting like it was surely expecting him to do, the cat sprinted forward at his attacker, going low and slipping right past the animal's striking zone, and launching himself up and sinking his teeth deep into the dogs neck and latching his claws into its head. The dog thrashed its head and neck, desperate to make the cat release it. Grimmjow did let go and was thrown back a couple of feet, facing forward to never take his eyes off of the animal. There were obvious tears to its face and the dog was clearly pissed. It tried charging at Grimmjow again. Not wanting to continue dealing with this loud animal, the Arrancar gave it an extra second to get closer to him, then turned and ran back through the gate. Grimmjow easily slipped through the bars; the stupid dog on the other hand slammed face first into them, too focused on the cat to notice anything else.

Grimmjow smirked, mentally at least, at the dog that had been quick to stand back up and barked incessantly at him. "Mako! What's got you so worked up?" A man's voice was calling from inside the house.

An average man with average black hair and a plain grey shirt ran out from the door to see what was wrong with his creature. Grimmjow decided to wait an extra few second to watch as the human saw the blood dripping down the dogs face and a bit from its neck and panicked. He started swearing and screaming at Grimmjow about how a little cat could do this to his sweet dog. The Arrancar purred to himself at the feeble human's amusing anger before running down the street that he came from, making a few zig zags as the man had apparently thrown something at him. He honestly didn't care enough to find out. When he could no longer hear the human's shouting Grimmjow stopped his running and looked around to make sure he still recognized where he was. He did.

 _All right then. Time to pick a new direction._

()

Yukiko walked through the small neighborhoods smiling with a bit of a skip in her step. The previous night may have been chilly but it was now late morning and the outdoor air felt very comfortable. It wasn't as if she had any kind of appointment or errands to take care of today but she was not going to sit in her apartment all day; she'd go stir crazy. So she made a trip to a library not too far outside the residential area. She also, as she often did, packed a canvas, sketch book, and her boxes of paints and pencils for a trip to the park that she and Grimmjow had gone to the previous night. While she was a little doubtful that she was going to use any of them today she liked to be prepared in the event of a vision. It would be easier on her if she can record it in the moment rather than have to deal with the itch of needing to put it down through her whole walk home.

 _Hopefully I won't get one. Visions two days in a row on top of the late night trip will tire me out way too quickly._ She was fine now but she did have a late morning in bed. She actually didn't wake up until a little after 10, and Grimmjow slept in a bit later than her.

The park was fairly decently packed with children running around the playground and parents watching from benches and picnic tables. Yukiko found an empty corner at a far table and settled there as to not disturb the families and opened her newly rented book; _Art Through History_. She had been wanting it for a while now and was excited that she finally got it. Apparently some high school students had been assigned some kind of art history research assignment and there was a waiting list for this book because of it. It was being wasted on those students in her honest opinion. A teenager being forced to look at these pictures and paintings wouldn't have a real appreciation of them, they would just be another assignment to them. But Yukiko did; in fact she was mesmerized by the designs and imagery. She had always loved painting and arts but was never exposed to true, historical art until these past few years. Now she was left to fill in the missing years of beauty as quickly as she could. Her only problem was that her eyes would never leave a picture until every line and stroke was deeply engrained into her heart. This book held images of nearly 15 paintings and she could probably spend the whole day looking without making it through them all.

Right now she was looking at Samuel Palmer's Oak Trees, Lullingstone Park. The way that only the single tree in foreground was given any defined detail while the background was left as only discernable blurs made her wonder what Palmer was thinking. Why did he feel that only that tree was important, or was there some other motive? She didn't know, and she might never know. Sure, people interpret the meaning behind paintings all the time and tell others what the reasoning behind a motif is but they aren't the artist. An interpretation is just that, an interpretation. Only the creator knows with certainty what an image means. Except for the cases of her vision paintings where even she has no clue what she's painting all the time, Yukiko knew exactly what was behind each brush stroke. _Maybe that's the difference between great artist and people like me…_ She considered sadly.

Suddenly _Oak Trees_ was thrown up.

{"AHHH!"} Yukiko screamed at the surprise interruption. A black cat had shoved its way under the book in her hands and pushed it up, out of the way so it could stare at her with its' shockingly blue eyes.

{"Grimmjow?! What did you do that for?"} The young woman questioned angrily. She's not sure why but Grimmjow seems to be rather into everything since this morning: her bed (though she was the one to put him there), her breakfast, her juice and now her book.

The cat mewed an answer that she obviously couldn't understand and turned to sit in between her and her book so that he could see what she was looking at. Yukiko released a muted groan since her view was now blocked by a fuzzy black head. He looked back at her and seemed confused. {"What?"}

He pointed to the picture with his paw.

{"The painting? What about it?"} Horrible choice of question since he can't answer but it's the best she's got this second.

Grimmjow growled slightly, likely in annoyance, and pointed again at the picture then at her. He wasn't an idiot, she thinks he's not anyways, so that he's questioning if it's hers is very unlikely. {"Why am I looking at this?"} She guessed.

He nodded yes.

{"I think it's beautiful. I have trouble taking my eyes of beautiful things."} She explained with a smile.

The cat still looked confused but didn't attempt to question her anymore.

Now that her focus has been broken Yukiko felt incredibly stiff. She must have been sitting here for a while without noticing. She hadn't paid attention to the time when she arrived at the park but it was currently 2:26 according to that clock, making it probably closer to 3. She doesn't know how long she had been sitting there but it felt like it must have been a long time so she stood and stretch out her arms and legs.

As she did, Yukiko was shocked for the second time within that five minute period. She unexpectedly felt a Garganta being ripped open just across the playground, exactly where the previous night's one had been. _What?! This doesn't make sense! A hole opening in the exact same spot only 12 hours apart? That can't be true!_ She tried to reason desperately but just as her power had alerted her, a tear in the air that looked like teeth opened wide for another Hollow; this one made Yukiko think of an anthropomorphic lizard. The real difference between last night's Hollow attack and now was, however, that now the park was packed with people.

Even if she wants to help them she can't fight hollows; she can only escape them. _Besides the Shinigami of this town is fast, he'll be here any second._ She tried to reason with herself as the Hollow stomped forward with pounding footsteps, and swiped its tail around itself, breaking a tree in half. Luckily, while none of the humans can see the Hollow they can perceive the affects it has on the world and the tree breaking was enough to send the parents and children in a panic to run and find safety from the anomaly. All of the frightened humans running seemed to excite the Hollow though and it smashed the swing set, leaving it as nothing but a crumpled piece of metal.

 _Where is the Shinigami?!_ Yukiko wondered, concerned that he will be too late to prevent someone getting eaten or killed. Oddly, she could hear that Grimmjow growled amidst all of the screaming and panic and looked at him to see that he looked only slightly annoyed, once again not concerned about the fact that he was in an incredibly fragile form.

The Hollow had picked its first target and was racing towards a small boy who couldn't be any older than six. Not able to wait any longer, Yukiko gathered the feeble amount of reiatsu that she was able to store in her body and concentrated it to flow beneath her feet, and flash stepped to the boy picking him up and stepping back towards a woman that was screaming a boy's name, probably his mother.

The Hollow gave her its full attention and ran straight at her. She was obviously faster thanks to her flash step and used that to jump on top of the Hollow's mask and over its body, diverting its direction away from the evacuating people that had been behind her. Then she would let it run in and get close to her, just for her to flash step out of its range. She didn't have much reiatsu to use and she had no way of actually fighting the hollow so she was focusing on keeping it busy while a Shinigami, any Shinigami at this point, got here.

Yukiko could not be more thankful when she finally felt an explosion of spiritual pressure and when she did she stepped to her abandoned belongings, grabbed them, scooped up Grimmjow who was sitting there watching the whole thing, and used flash step another three times towards her apartment building. She didn't want the Shinigami to find her. It would only lead to questions that she was not keen on answering.

She stopped using her flash step when she sensed the Shinigami in the park and started running normally until she turned a corner where she stopped to drop Grimmjow and catch her breath. She hadn't repeatedly used reiatsu like that in a long time.

The young woman readjusted her grip on her bag and book and resumed walking to her apartment, still short on breath. The entire way back she could hear an upset, black not-really-a-cat cat meowing incessantly at her; probably something regarding her flash step. Or being carried. Either way she was not really keen on talking to him right now either. Flash step is skill based rather than power based meaning it didn't take much to use it. But when you don't have much to give, like her, it's exhausting and all she felt like she can handle at this moment was curling up for a nap. _In fact that's exactly what I'm going to do._ She decided and continued to ignore Grimmjow with nothing else on her mind.

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	8. Chapter 8

**This was a cruel amount of time to have in between chapters. I actually didn't realize how long it had been since I last updated. I got caught up with school :(**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

After getting back to the apartment, Yukiko promptly pulled out her futon and went to sleep despite it still being mid-afternoon. To make things more irritating she completely ignored Grimmjow's demands for answers regarding her flash step. Words or no words, it was obvious that that was what he wanted from her the whole walk back. In a last ditch attempt to force answers out of her, he sat on her chest and smacked her in the face, claws slightly out. Her face scrunched but she simply turned over, leaving him to slide off.

He shook the frustration out of his body and sat on the table to take in his options and think for a minute. _I don't want to sleep. Looks like I have nothing to do except get back to looking for the shop._

Decision made, he crossed the room, jumped up and out the window once again. When he landed in the grass, Grimmjow looked up at the blue sky and breathed in the comfortably cool air. It was all a stark contrast to Hueco Mundo, reminding him that even though he's made a few trips to the World of the Living and that one trip to the Soul Society, he hadn't spent a significant amount of continuous time in either. The only place with such weather that he spent a lot of time in was Los Nochas, though the company there soured the time. _Especially towards the end. At least I got a good fight with Kurosaki out of it._ The former Espada added to himself.

Grimmjow padded his way down a new street than before. While it wasn't empty it also wasn't crowded, just a few little groups of teenagers and an occasional adult walking along, none of whom pestered the Arrancar. He decided that this time around he will just walk forward as long as he can rather turn down the streets. As he did, he couldn't help but feel annoyed at the sheer height of the buildings and wall around him. He never felt small before. Even when he was and Adjuchas he was accused of being small, though he never felt it. Why would he when he was capable of standing above everything around him by just tearing them down lower than him? But now… he had to scurry around the ground like a rat. It was pathetic. All he had to do to fix this was find Urahara, but that was proving to be more difficult than it should. Finding one man in a city full of people was never this hard when he could move as fast as he wanted, and open a pesquisa.

It took quite a bit of walking but eventually Grimmjow came to an end in his straight road, forcing him to choose left or right. Not really thinking it matters at this point, he chose left. After doing so the sidewalks became gradually more crowded, getting his hopes up that maybe he was getting close to the shopping area that he ended up in when he discovered what happened to him. His pace gradually increased until he was almost running down the pavement. He was even beginning to feel a slight sense of familiarity with the surrounding buildings. However all hope that he had found a good checkpoint in his search was abruptly torn to shreds when he saw the grocery store that he had entered with Yukiko the previous day. _That's why this place felt familiar._ He thought, disappointed.

Not willing to quit just yet, he continued on past the store. The side walk was crowded with people exiting the building, arms full of bags though. While trying his best to avoid a woman in narrowly heeled shoes, his tail was stepped on by another foot. "NYAAA!" He bellowed out a kitty scream and ran full speed out of the crowd when the man lifted his foot startled.

Out of the crowd of feet and into the road, just in time for a silver car to come speeding at him. It blared an obnoxiously loud horn, and swerved as Grimmjow continued to sprint across the street, narrowly missing another car and reaching the other side. He felt himself panting and his paws dripping sweat as he looked at what he just escaped in horror. _What the hell is wrong with humans?!_

Grimmjow then whipped his tail a few times to test it out. It hurt but, was fine. Giving one last glare at the crowd and cars, he went on his way. The Arrancar walked at leisurely pace now since he didn't exactly have anything to do until he found Urahara and was doubtful of making it there today, even if he found the right track.

With the grocery store getting further and further behind him, the wandering creature was growing more aware of his empty stomach. Part of him wanted to turn around and retreat to Yukiko's apartment for a meal, but he wanted to keep going. He's barely into new streets after all. He instead sniffed the air for a moment. Nothing. _I'll just find something later._ He thought to help convince himself to continue on.

He once again became encouraged again, though this time cautiously, when he saw a decent crowd of people walking towards the same direction on the other side of the street. Checking for oncoming cars, Grimmjow wanted to cross but there were still a continuous stream of them. When he looked for another way to get to the other side of the, a tree branch perhaps, he instead found a cluster of people facing the street with the same thing on the other side. While looking at them, the cars all slowed then stopped and the people all began walking across the street in mass. Grimmjow realized this was his opportunity and ran across the street too, zig-zagging through the stationary cars until he was safely back on the other sidewalk. Once there he trotted after the still moving stream of people going in the same direction in hopes of finding that crowded shopping district. If he did then he might be back in his real body by dinner.

 _Wait! Why am I thinking like I'd go back to Yukiko's after I'm free from this cursed body. There's no way. Once I have the real me back I'm going after Kurosaki like I wanted from the very beginning._ The Arrancar was adamant in his decision. He was only with Yukiko because she was a meal ticket after all. Even if the oddness of the girl in every way intrigued him.

 _FOCUS!_ He ordered to himself.

He slipped in close to the crowd and followed along, careful of the feet around him. He was right to be cautious it turns out. The humans seemed to be going underground. He might not quite know where he ran through to get to where Yukiko picked him up, but he knew that he didn't run underground so he instead continued on his way.

Or at least he wanted to but his cat legs were weak, and all the walking he had done that day was starting to hurt his feet. He needed a break. Knowing better than to lay down within reach of humans, he looked around for somewhere a bit more secluded. It was far from ideal but the only semi-protected place that seemed to be around was beneath a sidewalk sign displaying a special sale for the food stall behind it.

Grimmjow padded into its shade and flopped onto the shaded pavement. The cat rolled to his side and stretched his legs and toes, even extending his claws and rested his cheek on the hard surface. He sighed as he let his sore paws stop working and just watched the humans as they went about their lives, completely unaware of how many times they were all nearly destroyed by forces and armies they can't even perceive. Of how many times they had been saved by Kurosaki. They owed their souls to the boy and they didn't even realize it. It honestly irritated him. It wasn't that he cared about the orange-haired anomaly, but he couldn't stand entitled, ungrateful insects like these. The more thought he gave it the more annoyed he became and his tail thumped against the ground more rapidly with the feeling.

 _Just ignore them._ He told himself as he rolled onto his back, causing his front paws to naturally tuck loosely against his chest. Mentally, he felt stupid laying like that but physically it was somehow comfortable so he didn't move. Grimmjow felt like he was starting to doze off but a smell found its way to his nose, reminding him that he was hungry. He swiftly flipped himself back to his feet and looked for where the smell was coming from.

The stall behind his little hideout was actually cooking some kind of meat. He peeked out to read what the sign actually said. "10% off Frankfurt". He had to admit, they smelled good. And he was hungry. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get one. He knows people, especially kids, could be quick to give what they thought was a starving cat food, but he has never and will never beg for a meal. He'd rather blatantly steal it.

The Arrancar laid in wait underneath the sign for a customer. It took maybe five or so minutes, longer than Grimmjow appreciated, but eventually a customer approached and ordered a Frankfurt. It was a boy, probably only a year or so younger than Kurosaki when they first met, so he knew this would be an easy target. The moment the food wrapped in a napkin was in his hand the cat shot out and hooked himself onto the boy's ankle with a snarl.

The unlucky human screamed and kicked his leg. More importantly he dropped the meat. Grimmjow quickly released the boy and caught his meal then make a quick race to a new location before either his victim or the stall worker had a chance to do anything. It took a couple of minutes of running, but eventually Grimmjow found an alley that he deemed empty enough to eat his food.

It was good, and since it was sized for snack to humans it made a perfectly sized meal for a cat's body. He had to put it down, careful to keep the paper between his meat and the disgusting alley concrete, before he proceeded to pull off pieces of it to fit in his mouth. He wasn't more than a few mouthfuls into his Frankfurt before his sensitive ears picked up on a drawn out sound from behind him. The Arrancar turned to face its source, a gray stripped stray alley cat. He didn't think about it, and still didn't care, but he probably just wandered into its territory with food. Now, of course, the flea bag wants Grimmjow's prize.

 _Like hell that's going to happen._ The hungry Arrancar thought.

He faced the animal and, somewhat against his will, puffed his body up before letting out a hiss. The stray charged at his black intruder, a challenge Grimmjow accepted head-on. He leaped into the gray animal, they became a furry ball of angry screams and hisses, both trying to claw and bite the other. The chaotic mass that they became moved all around the alley and they crashed into a pile of exposed trash. Grimmjow ignored it but his attacker seemed to become spooked. Knowing that the animal was now afraid, the black cat charged at it and the stray turned and ran as quickly as it could into the alley and squished itself into the tight space between two buildings. With the disgusting animal gone, the Arrancar returned to finish his meal.

The meat seemed to improve in taste after he beat out another animal for it. A feeling that gave him some satisfaction, that would have made him smirk if he were able.

His belly finally full, Grimmjow took a second to look at the sky and realized that it was starting to get a bit darker. He wasn't sure how long he had been searching since returning to the apartment with Yukiko but it was obvious that the day was on its way out. He had only just gotten used to navigating the lowly area that it sidewalks. He didn't want to test himself by waiting until dark to return to his temporary lodging. Not yet at least. So, the Arrancar decided to finally call it a day and began his return trip.

()

There was something tickling Yukiko's nose.

It wasn't something physical. A smell maybe?

She wasn't ready to wake up. She was still exhausted from her earlier activities. Yukiko decided to ignore it by simply rolling over to her other side and burying herself deeper into her blanket. But now there was something pushing on her left foot. What was it?

The pushing sensation became more forceful, and a small hand-like feeling was now shoving at her foot. Whatever was interrupting her sleep wasn't getting to a stopping point fast enough, which means she has to end it.

The cranky woman sat up in the dark and saw a black cat trying to shove her foot out of its corner on the futon that he apparently thinks is exclusively his. {"Grimmjow. Cut that out."} She demanded.

He wasn't looking at her though so he didn't know she had said anything. Yukiko withdrew her feet and bent over to get face to face with the cat but stopped short before saying anything. He watched her, maybe waiting for her to speak. What came out wasn't the _"_ _Get your own futon."_ that she intended. Instead it was, {"You stink! What have you been doing?"}

The pair of blue eyes looked away and a grumble sound could be heard.

Yukiko was tired and didn't want to deal with this. But at the same time she wasn't going to be able to sleep with the stench that coated Grimmjow in her bed. The woman looked at the cat and said point-blank {"You're getting a bath."}

He growled at her words.

{"Either you get a bath, or you stay outside until it rains and washes you off."}

He growled a bit again but this time got up and skulked over to the door that lead into the little bath room. When Yukiko got up herself, she realized that she was still wearing her day clothes and that she hadn't bathed that day either thanks to her nap. Which apparently lasted the rest of the day, seeing as it was now 8:13 PM. _At least Grimmjow isn't staying out the whole night causing trouble. Or whatever he does when he leaves._ She thought.

Yukiko pulled fresh pajamas from her dresser and could hear the cat calling to her impatiently. _Shut up already. I'm coming._

She grabbed a pair of fresh towels from their place in her closet and finally opened the door for them to enter the bathroom. The woman dropped the towels onto the floor and turned on the water sprayer, adjusting it to a comfortable temperature on her hand. Looking around, she found Grimmjow sitting next the towel. {"Come on. Let's get this over with."}

His tail flicked once against his side and he trotted reluctantly to her and the water. Care to only kneel so that she doesn't get her clothes wet, Yukiko began rinsing down the black cat. To her utter disgust the water was running off of him in a greyish color. {"Your black fur does a good job hiding how dirty you really are."} She said, well aware of the fact that he wasn't paying attention. He was too busy glaring hatefully at the wall.

She started running her fingers through his fur now too, trying to work out some of the loose grim and dirt. He immediately tensed but gradually relaxed under her touch. By the time she stopped the water to instead use some of her shampoo on him, it smelled like the ocean so he can't throw a fit over it being girly, he had actually sat down and seemed utterly relaxed and at ease being scrubbed over by her. _Now he just needs to start purring._ She thought mischievously. Yukiko was certain the Hollow would throw himself in front of a train before he ever allowed himself to purr in front of her. Probably any human. She decided to push her luck and started rubbing the suds on his head and face. He looked at her but immediately closed his eyes, probably to protect them from the shampoo. He seemed more or less okay with the action so she continued on down his legs and in between his toes, which he also didn't seem to mind. It was only when she tried to scrub through his tail that Grimmjow took issue with her. He growled slightly and tucked it close to his body, giving her a sour look when he did.

Yukiko put her hands up defensively. {"Okay, okay. I'll just rinse you off then. Close your eyes, please."}

He complied and she washed all of the suds off his body. When she was finished and turned off the water he shook himself, his ears making a slapping sound against his head, and walked over to the towels still on the floor. The woman wrapped him in one, rubbing it against him a bit as she did, and then opened the door for him to leave the room. Instead, Grimmjow made himself comfortable in his little towel nest and refused to get back to his feet.

Yukiko wasn't stupid. He may look like a cat but he wasn't. He was a man, and she was not going to get naked in front of him. _Since he's being so good and kept his claws wrapped up in there…_ She thought with a smirk, and picked him and the towel up, tightened it like he was a burrito, and all but dropped him outside the bathroom, quickly shutting the door between them. If he had any complaints he kept them to himself seeing as there was no obnoxious yowls from him.

She tied her long hair into a bun to prevent it from getting wet, not needing to wash it tonight, and worked quickly to clean herself. Despite washing Grimmjow and herself, she was still incredibly tired and had a deep desire to return to her sleep. She probably spent less time washing herself than she did the cat; though, even if he's smaller he was filthy.

The now dried woman exited the bathroom wearing her pajamas, a cotton blue flannel shirt and pants set, and walked lazily past Grimmjow. The odd little creature had been rubbing himself vigorously against the towel to dry himself, though he stopped at the sight of the woman. She didn't care, and instead curled back up in her blanket and was asleep before Grimmjow had finished and made it to the futon.

The next morning, thanks to all of her sleep, was an early one for Yukiko. She was fully rested and got up since laying down wasn't going to fill her stomach. She was careful to not kick the sleeping Hollow out of his place on the bottom left corner of the thick bedding. She didn't want to wake him up just yet, it was only 5:48 in the morning after all, so she made sure to be extra quiet as she opened her refridgerator and pulled out some eggs and beacon. Yukiko was in the mood for a Western breakfast; they were good and she hadn't had one in a while. She started by getting three strips of bacon and slicing them into small cuts before putting them on a frying pan to begin cooking. She then cracking open three eggs and beat them until they acceptable and then added in some milk before stirring some more. She stirred the frying bacon and then poured most of the beaten eggs onto a second pan; while that started she diced up some little mushrooms and tomatoes. The sound of sizzling grease from the meat worried her for a second and she turned to look back at Grimmjow. He was still in a dead sleep, completely unmoving. _He must've been tired. I wish I knew what he was up to when he leaves._ She didn't like it but the chances of her getting an answer was very unlikely; so she did what she can do this very moment. Finish breakfast.

She removed all of the bacon bites from their greasy pan and put them on a separate plate, which she patted down with a paper towel to soak up the grease. Everything was ready so she started adding the diced up mushrooms, tomato and pieces of the cooked bacon on top of the egg patty. Then with a well-practiced technique, she folded the egg in half and created a perfectly shaped omelet, which she easily scooped off the pan and onto a plate. She poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat at her table. {"Itadekimatsu."}

She'll cook Grimmjow's plate later.

()

When Grimmjow woke up, he couldn't even figure out when he fell asleep. He must've been more exhausted than he realized since it was a dead sleep. As far as he felt, like he laid down, blinked, and it was morning. He wasn't sure where Yukiko was but she was nowhere to be seen in the tiny apartment.

He stood up from the futon and checked the bathroom and toilet doors. Both were closed with no light on. He turned to check the window. It was open, of course. He was about to jump up to the window but as he was passing the low table something caught his eye. He jumped up and found something covered by a napkin next to a bowl of orange juice. Realizing it must have been food left for him, Grimmjow hooked his claws into the napkin and pulled it off to reveal an omelet. It smelled a bit cold and was probably cooked a while ago. _Just how long ago did she cook?_

He took a bit of the egg dish and was happily surprised that it contained meat and was even enjoyed the mushrooms and tomatoes that she added in there. That she was so good at cooking might have a bit to do with the way he was becoming so comfortable with the woman. _No. I'm not getting comfortable with her!_ He insisted to himself. _Last night in the bath was a complete fluke because of how tired I was. I absolutely did not enjoy her rubbing my back. And I 100% did not briefly entertain the idea of that scenario occurring again but with my proper body._

The more he denied such possibilities to himself the more flustered he got. His only saving grace was that he was alone. He was so caught up with his thoughts that when he heard the door shut he nearly jumped off the table. Grimmjow looked at Yukiko, who stared back looking a bit amused. She definitely saw that she scared him. She removed her shoes and sat at the table across from Grimmjow as he continued to watch her. She put down a thick book with a metal spiral with a pencil tied to it by a cloth strip for its spine and rested her cheek in her hand, still smiling.

The Arrancar narrowed his blue eyes at her, unhappy at her for the stupid smile. When she sighed and turned her attention to the book she brought and started drawing, he settled himself and finished his meal. He licked his lips for any crumbs and started lapping up some of the juice. With his breakfast finished he was going to start his daily search for the Shinigami's shop but was feeling sore and heavy footed after the previous day. He wasn't keen on taking the day to relax but it was hard to not be tempted. His current body was obviously not built to handle constant physical activity. He didn't want to waste time though. He wanted his body back.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

Yukiko had a sour look on her face. She obviously knew who it was. The woman, very clearly, reluctantly stood and opened the door. It was that man from the government that she called an asshole and nearly threw a fit when he first saw Grimmjow. "Good morning, Yuki-chan!"

He looked behind her and saw the black cat sitting on the table. "Creature." He said distastefully.

 _Ass-fucker._ Grimmjow mentally regarded him with narrowed eyes and the tip of his tail slowly curled and thumped down repeatedly.

"Honda-san informed me that you actually saved that cat, and that you hadn't adopted or purchased it. Is that correct?"

Yukiko nodded her head yes.

"Honestly, why didn't you just tell me so the first time? There's no reason to hide your heroics from me." Something about the way the man spoke pissed Grimmjow off. And if his words weren't enough to tell that the human was a creep, then the way he reached to touch Yukiko's face, which she quickly backed away from, was.

The Arrancar felt a deep growl build in his throat. _Is this bastard going to get to the reason he's hear, or did he just come to perv on Yukiko?_

The man brushed her rejection off and walked into the apartment without actually being invited in and sat at the table, eyeing Grimmjow with barely disguised disgust. Yukiko was clearly irritated, but he could see her take a deep breath, wipe her expression blank and close the door to join them at the table. _She must be used to him acting like that._ The cat realized.

"Ready for today's lesson?" He asked with a smile that had every bit of as skin crawl-inducing quality to it as that silver-haired Shinigami that worked with Aizen, Gin Ichimaru.

If the woman was bothered by it, she refused to show. Instead she just nodded.

"Alright! Let's start with a review over our previous, and very first lesson." He seemed too excited.

Yukiko sighed and then started moving her hands into a sequence of gestures that totally confused Grimmjow.

"Yes, yes! Very good. However, remember. I want you to say what you are signing so that I know that you actually know what you're showing."

She frowned slightly at that. She redid the gestures and this time said {"Hello. My name is Yukiko Ametsuchi. It's nice to meet you."}

Grimmjow was shocked. He had never heard of a language that was completely hand gestures. But he could also tell that Yukiko was uncomfortable about having to speak what she's signing. It seemed odd to him since she only ever spoke to him. Ever since she found out that he can read her lips she's stopped writing out messages.

"Alright. What else did we go over?"

She gestured again and this time said. {"What is your name?"}

He prompted her to continue, so she did. Speaking with both her hands and mouth. Just not with a voice. {"Thank you. Please. Excuse me."}

She seemed to just be listing her words, wanting to get it over with. _Can't blame her. This guy gives_ me _the creeps._

"Alright then. Let's get started with today's lesson!"

He turned his back to pull something out of his bag and when he did, Grimmjow caught Yukiko flipping the man off. The only bit of sign language _he_ knew.

 _Ok. This I've gotta stick around for._ He thought with an inner smirk.

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	9. Chapter 9

**So while I was writing this I realized I had been using Western ordering of names, first then last, but I want to try and keep this close to form for the canon series and that includes the names so starting here I'm going to be using Eastern ordering, last then first.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Nelliel walked the halls of a newly rebuilt Las Noches. When the Quencies invaded Hueco Mundo they caused quite a bit of damage to the fortified palace. The first thing the Arrancars did was take a count of everyone who survived. The second thing was giving all the wounded, their King Harribel included, a safe place to recover. Naturally, Nel was quick to assist in the endeavor. Surprisingly, Grimmjow participated as well, though he did complain about it plenty. The female Arrancar had begun to feel that the aggressive man was finally maturing and might actually start acting like the leader he would need to be for what Tier had planned. But true to the beast's nature as soon as the immediate needs in Las Noches were complete he started pestering both Tres Espada for fights and after what must've been the hundredth refusal he switched to coming and going as he pleased in an effort to find a good fight.

Nel sighed in disappointment. They needed Grimmjow's strength even if they didn't like his temperament. And what disturbed her even more than that fact was the one that he was missing. Even on his little excursions out of the palace Nel had some sense of where he went and what he was up to thanks to his massive Reiatsu and the whispers and rumors that traveled through the lesser Hollows. But lately there was no sign of Grimmjow anywhere in Hueco Mundo.

Finally reaching her destination, Nel opened the door to Tier's throne room. The Arrancar King was sitting on her throne with her Fraccion standing around her as she listened to the ramblings of an Adjuchas. The three women standing looked at her to acknowledge her entrance while Tier made sure to at least appear as if she was giving her visitor her full attention. When he finally left Nel stepped forward to discuss her worry with the now available King. "Harribel-san, we might have a problem."

Tier's expression and tone stayed level, as they tend to. "What might that be?"

"Grimmjow. He –" Nel was cut off midsentence by the immediate string of complaining insults from Emiluo Appachi, the most tom-boyish of the three women as well as the crudest.

"What did that dumbass do this time? Go pick a fight with a Gillian and get stepped on? And why the fuck are you coming to Harribel-sama on his behalf? If he did something make him come and face his King like a man!"

Nel waited for the woman to finish her unnecessary rant before continuing. "He is missing."

This caught the attention of the four Arrancar and for once all three Fraccion listened quietly.

"As we all know Grimmjow hasn't been one to sit here and play politics with us but whenever he leaves there is at least some trace of where he went and he always comes back after a few days. I have not caught a trace of his presence in twenty-thee." Recently the dome that gave Las Noches its bright blue sky was adjusted to come on and off, creating the sense of a changing sky and creating the only true day and night cycle in Hueco Mundo.

"Twenty-three… Twenty-three days ago I sensed a Garganta opening. If he went to the World of the Living it would most likely be to challenge Kurosaki Ichigo. But why would he stay gone so long? Nelliel, do you think Kurosaki would've killed him in a fight?"

Nel didn't even need to think about it. "No. Ichigo very rarely kills. And the chances of something else in that world powerful enough to kill him are incredibly low. The only ones who come to mind are Urahara and Yoruichi but neither of them could be bothered with him unless he was causing an excessive amount of destruction."

Tier was silent for a minute or so. Finally she came to a decision. "Nelliel. I want you to go to the World of the Living and speak to Kurosaki as well as Urahara. Find out if they know anything of Grimmjow's disappearance. Bring him back if you can but don't linger there. We've too much to do here for you to remain absent of a Jaegerjaquez Hunt for longer than necessary."

Nel bowed slightly to Tier. "I'll leave immediately."

Exact to her word, she opened a Garganta of her own and stepped through right there in the throne room. She was able to remain calm and stone faced in front of the other Arrancar but actually having an excuse to visit Ichigo was making her grin like a child.

…

Nel entered the World of the Living high above Karakura Town and took in its appearance. This was actually her first time there and she was incredibly curious about it. She really wanted to spend days here, having Ichigo show her everything there is for the world to offer. _It'd almost be like a date!_ Her mind raced ahead childishly. But her bubble burst when she remembers that she isn't on vacation. She's here for work and is supposed to return to Las Noches quickly.

With a frown she opens her Pesquisa and immediately locates Ichigo. It was pretty easy since he was actually coming to her. Nel launched herself down towards where the man was running across the air on reiatsu and impacted with him like a bullet, making them both crash to the ground. "I-I-chi-go-o-o!"

"Ghah!" When she slammed into him he screamed in pain, and when they hit the ground he practically went comatose.

When Nel saw this she started vigorously shaking him crying. "NO! ICHIGO DON'T DIE!"

As she panicked Orihime finally caught up and nearly screamed herself at the sight of Ichigo's current condition. "Nel-san! Please calm down!"

The green haired woman let her grip on the man slacken and regarded the human. "Oh! Hello Orihime."

"Maybe you should get off of Ichigo-kun now."

Nel looked down at Ichigo sadly but got up and he started to breathe again. After he got a few minutes to breathe normally he was finally able to speak to the visitor. "It's good to see you Nel. What're you doing here though?"

"I wish this was a friendly visit but I'm actually here on orders from Tier-san."

"Tier-san? You're taking orders from her?" Orihime seemed surprised by this.

"Of course I am. She is the king of Hueco Mundo."

The orange haired woman seemed a bit embarrassed now. "Oh I knew that! It's just… When we were last there you weren't around so I didn't think you were following her rule."

Nel shrugged. "I wasn't then since I was still trapped in my child form but now that I have my true form back I do."

"So what does Harribel want?" Ichigo asked trying to get to the point.

"Grimmjow went missing."

Both the human's eyes bulged in surprise at the news. "WHAT!?"

"Yeah. It'd be twenty-three days ago now. We believe he came to your world. I don't suppose you've seen him in that time?"

"No. I haven't seen Grimmjow since the war. You Orihime?" Ichigo answered.

"Same."

Nel was looking at them with an inspecting eye now, earning nervous expressions from the pair. "Wh-What?" The girl asked nervously.

She crossed her arms as she continued to look at them inquisitively. "Something seems different about you two."

They both blushed but Orihime seemed absolutely flustered. "Different? We're not different! We're exactly the same people we were eight months ago!"

Nel tilted her head to the side. "If you say so."

The two humans covertly sighed in relief.

"Anyways. I need to check in with Urahara too to see if he knows anything."

"Alright. You know how to find his shop?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah. I can sense him from here."

"Good luck finding Grimmjow." The boy said.

"Come visit when you get a chance too." The girl added.

Nel responded with a smile. "I'll try!"

()

Grimmjow sat in his place at the table and watched entertained as Yukiko held his bowl of orange juice in one hand, her glass in the other and balanced their bowls of rice and curry with handmade pork buns. He had been staying with her for nearly three weeks now and they had a fairly simple routine down. They wake up, Yukiko makes breakfast, and they eat. Grimmjow has been alternating days between staying around for the day and searching for Urahara so that he doesn't walk his annoyingly fragile feet bloody. He's also been making a point of being present for all of her meeting with Shimada; both because it annoys the human and because he doesn't trust the man. He's too touchy, or he would be if Yukiko wasn't so skilled about avoid physical contact, and he's overly friendly.

On the other days he sticks around though, Grimmjow has watched her paint, read books with her, listen to music. They also try to have "conversations" through him reading her lips and Yukiko asking him yes and no questions. Today however she came up with a new idea. She was currently in the process of making up cards of kanji for him to arrange into questions or answers for her. While it's not a perfect solution and there's a limited amount he can say it's going to be a _big_ improvement compared to before. Plus, once the cards are done he'll be able to ask her where she picked him up from the first time.

For the time being though, he enjoyed his lunch. He really did like her cooking and if it weren't for walking himself ragged every other day he'd probably get fat. It was almost shocking that Yukiko herself wasn't, especially seeing as how she sleeps so much. It was almost shocking to him that not only does the woman sleep more than eight hours a night, sometimes she doesn't wake up until after ten, she was also prone to napping during the day. He noticed that this was even more apparent on days that she had a vision. He was certain that it wasn't healthy for humans to have such a lifestyle but she seemed fine so what does he care.

Yukiko knocked on the table. Her indication that she was going to speak and he should look up. {"When we're done eating would you mind doing me quick favor? It'll only take a few minutes, and I'll finish your cards as soon as it's done."}

Grimmjow didn't like the sound of that. He wanted her to finish now. He wasn't happy when she stopped to make lunch but he let it go since it was his lunch too. _But if it was only going to take a few minutes it wouldn't be the end of the world I guess._ He thought, then nodded to give his okay.

They finished their meals in a hurry and Yukiko placed the bowls in the sink to soak then pulled out the painting she had been working on. This one she was being paid to do. It was a bunch of solid rectangle and squares of dark reds, blues, grays, greens and purples with a single black cat sitting on a red rectangle. The cat was the only shape with curves and the only black in the whole painting. From what she said, it was supposed to be finished and delivered tonight. He did think it was done since she stopped working on it early yesterday, plus what help could he give?

She laid the painting flat on the floor and squeezed a glob of black paint on her wooden plate that is covered with dried paint spots. {"Step on the pain with your front feet and walk across the painting."}

Grimmjow looked at her like she was crazy.

She smiled and put her hands together in a begging position. {"Please!"}

The Arrancar sighed and complied. She doesn't seem to care where he walks and didn't give any indication that it matters when he looked up at her, so he just guessed it was his choice. Only being careful to not step on the cat in the painting, he walked in a straight line across the shapes and she grabbed him just as he jumped. She carried him to the bathroom before putting him down and turned on the water. He looked at her confused. {"I don't want you to get paint of the floor. It'd be impossible to get out."}

She only spent a few minutes rinsing the paint from his paws and didn't bother to give him a towel since only his feet were wet. He followed her out the room, shaking his feet in between steps and watched as she finally got back to work on his cards. She spent about forty minutes finishing then laid the stack out for him. {"Got anything you want to stay?"}

Grimmjow scanned through the cards and pulled out what he needed. **"** **Where'd did you find me?"**

Yukiko seemed almost disappointed by his question. {"Do you want me to take you there tomorrow? You're looking for it when you go away for the day right?"}

He nodded happily. He was finally going to be making progress.

{"Do you have anything else worth asking or did I just spend three hours making those for that one question?"}

 _Alright, alright. Calm down._ He thought a bit taken back by her sudden irritation.

Grimmjow wracked his brain for a question. **"** **Why can't you speak?"**

{"Just because."} She said, holding his gaze like a challenge.

The Arrancar sifted through the cards. **"** **Because why?"**

He was pushing for an answer.

{"It's complicated and if I told you, you'd have a hard time believing me. Next question."}

Grimmjow patted his previous question to show that he still wanted it answered.

Her face soured. {"Next question."}

He rolled his eyes but came up with a new question **"** **Where'd you learn Flash Step? That's a Shinigami skill."**

{"I learned it when I was little. Most of the people where I grew up can use it. It's pretty basic."}

The cat felt his ears and tail stand straight up and he sifted through the cards as quickly as he can. " **Where did you grow up?"**

Yukiko looked up and shifted her head a bit as she thought. {"The middle of nowhere really. It's supposed to be a village but it was more of a compound really. I can't begin to explain how relieved I am to be out of it."}

She didn't look like she wanted to talk more about it so he changed questions. **"** **Where'd you vision power come from?"**

{"Born with it. Same with knowing if a hole opens for Hollows are Shinigami's to come or go. Which reminds me. A hole from Hueco Mundo opened while I was cooking."}

The second power Grimmjow had no clue about but it was good to know. He wanted to continue asking questions but all the things that had been bothering him about not being able to ask have now been asked. He looked around the room and realized there was something huge he could ask her. **"** **How long have you been painting?"**

Yukiko seemed surprised by the question but immediately brightened. {"I started painting when I five or six. Nui caught me using calligraphy brushes and ink to paint pictures and she snuck me everything I needed to start, then I never stopped. Nui also taught me to cook."}

 **"** **Who is she? Sister?"**

{"No. More like an old baby sitter who never stopped looking after me. She left the village with me and we stuck together. We stayed together for a few years before separating. But we send each other a letter every month to make sure the other is okay."}

Grimmjow tilted his head in curiosity.

{"We snuck away from the village. If anyone found either of us they'd force us back."}

 **"** **Is Ametsuchi Yukiko really your name then?"** He asked suspiciously.

{"Yeah. They are pretty old fashioned there and even if they left no one would be able to figure out how to track us down with it. When we separated we decided that it would be easier for us to keep track of each other if we kept our names."}

Grimmjow stared at the cards, not really knowing what to ask anymore. He must've taken a while because Yukiko snapped her fingers to get his attention. {"Do you mind if I ask you questions?"}

He shook his head no and was a bit relieved to be able to just respond until he comes up with new questions.

{"What are your level of Hollows called? I know they exist but I never heard a name for it."}

 _Easy._ **"** **Arrancar."**

{"How long have you been an Arrancar?"}

Grimmjow thought about it but didn't have an answer. **"** **I don't know. Only night exists in Hueco Mundo so it's pretty impossible to say how long ago it was."**

He let her read that then put out new sentences. **"** **The Shinigami that caused the evolution of Arrancar said it was about a hundred years ago though."**

{"I guess you couldn't say how long you've been a Hollow then?"}

 **"** **Not a clue. I don't remember my life when I was alive either."**

{"I'm not surprised. Hollows loss their memory of their life since it would torture them to instinctually eat human souls while remembering that they were human too."}

Grimmjow would've been speechless if he could use his words at the beginning of the conversation. **"** **How did you come to that conclusion?"**

{"What do you mean?"}

 **"** **Hollows lose their memories because they do. No reason behind it that anyone who's gone through it. Why do you think there's a reason behind it, and that it's to make eating souls easier?"**

{"It's what I was taught before."} She looked like she wanted to avoid answering but did anyways.

 **"** **What? Your village teaches history of Hollows or something?"**

She sighed and closed her eyes. {"Or something. There's this whole story about the birth of the first Hollow and the first Shinigami."}

 **"** **Sounds boring."** Grimmjow was not interested in a history lesson. Why does the past matter? It's the future that's important.

Yukiko laughed. {"It is."}

With the conversation at a stand-still they both ended up stretching their arms. The woman leaned and flopped on the floor, her head landing next to the cat, and she stifled a yawn. _Is she seriously going to nap?_

Apparently she wasn't because she looked at the clock and sat back up. {"It's time for me to go meet with my client to give her the painting. Want to come?"}

Grimmjow nodded yes since there was nothing better to do. She slipped the painting into the black square bag that she kept by the door and pulled a jacket on. She held the door open for Grimmjow and they left the apartment together.

{"We'll get some groceries of dinner too while we're out."}

()

Nel sat in living space behind Urahara's store front. Tessai place a cup of tea on the table for her, the blond Shinigami, Yoruichi, and himself before sitting down. "How can we help you today Nelliel?" Urahara asked.

"It seems Grimmjow went missing. We believe that he came to this world twenty-three days but there is no sign of him returning to Hueco Mundo, and neither Ichigo nor Orihime have seen signs of him."

Her news seemed to be a surprise to the group.

"I take it, you haven't seen him then?"

"Sorry to say but we haven't." Urahara said from behind his green and white fan.

Nel sighed and stood, leaving her tea untouched. "If you find any sign of him please contact Las Noches and let us know."

"Of course." Tessai said.

The Arrancar left the shop and opened a Garganta just outside, returning to her home.

"I wonder where that troublesome Arrancar could have gone." The large dark skinned man questioned as he sipped his tea.

"What a curious situation." The other man said as he too sipped is tea.

Yoruichi watched her friend with a suspicious leer. "You know? Twenty-three days ago was when you were conducting your animal gigai experiment. The one where I said a Garganta opened _and_ a gigai went missing."

The blonde's face blanked out for a second and he pulled his fan in front of his face again. "Was that twenty-three days ago? I completely forgot."

"Why did you pretend to not know Grimmjow fell into one of them?"

Urahara smirked and closed his fan. "It's the perfect test run. The new gigais are designed for stealth after all. Nelliel has never been here before but she found the shop within minutes by sensing us with Pesquisa but she couldn't detect Grimmjow at all. Besides, it's not like he's dangerous as long as he's stuck in it so what's the harm in leaving him running free?"

"And what are you going to do when he finds you and realizes you're behind his current predicament? Assuming he isn't already aware it's your fault."

He laughed a bit nervously at the mention of what will happen when his experiment comes to an eventual end. "I'll just lie."

"You're a dead man laughing." Yoruichi and Tessai said together.

* * *

 **Just a short chapter but the story is finally moving, hope you enjoyed Grimmjow's and Yukiko's first "conversation". They can actually have them now! :) Anyways… Comments, complaints, reviews all make for a happy author so do it and I'll love you~ 3**

 **Yay Comments! (´** **｡** **•** **ω •** **｡** **`) :**

 **Silent Songstress Sorceress: Thank you! I'm trying hard to keep Grimmjow's personality consistent with the source material. It makes me happy that you like Yukiko, I'm trying to balance intelligence and strength for her.**

 **MrsSwordslover: I want fluffy kitten stuff but it's hard since too much will seem out of place for Grimmjow. I just needed to lay "ground work" for their situation but now that it's done the story will move and Grimmjow might get his body back sooner than I thought. Your patients is very appreciated though.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Wohoo! Sort of quick update! Off we go!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

Yukiko watched her reflection in the bathroom mirror working meticulously, combing her hair, ensuring there isn't a single strand out of place. Satisfied that her long hair had been completely combed down she began braiding a small handful from her temple to the back of her head, then repeated the braid on the other side, bound the two braids together while letting everything past the tie fall unbraided. She pushed the hair up and pinned it up to give her already thick hair added volume and hide the tie. She tweaked and tugged at the braids and hair beneath them until she was certain that everything was as it should be.

The woman took a half step back so that she could get a slightly better view of herself, from the chest up at least since that was all the space she had. She looked nice and well put together, with a powder blue button-up dress shirt with cuffed sleeves that went down just past her elbows and form fitting khaki capris. She put a charm bracelet on her left wrist and check her sterling silver studded earrings. Yukiko leaned in closer to the mirror and put on the finishing touches of black eyeliner, a thin layer of skin toned blush and a natural colored lipstick. She looked good. Adult-like. _You should. You are 22 after all._ She reminded herself.

She sighed and exited the little bathroom and found Grimmjow waiting by the front door. Impatiently waiting judging by the twitch in the tip of his tail. She had promised to take him back to where she found him and that was apparently important. The previous night she had thought to ask after they ate dinner and he answered that he needed to find someone and a busy street that looked like a shopping area nearby. He hoped to find the guy that he is certain was behind the transformation. At least she interpreted the reasoning as such. What he actually answered was **"** **The bastard who did this to me is near a busy street with a lot of stores which is near where you found me."**

He had also asked if she could just take him straight to the street he described but she refused. She hadn't been living in Karakura long herself. She only moved in a week and a half before finding him and didn't know the city that well herself so she wouldn't have any better method of finding the street he's looking for than him.

Despite the antsy Arrancar's eyes on her expectantly, she took her time. Yukiko flipped through her multiple sketch books, scanning the contents and settled on her most recently filled one then grabbed a large binder full of pictures of her past paintings. She was meeting a potential client and it always gave them a better impression of her and her abilities to follow her this routine. Dress nice. Look professional. Bring a work portfolio. Now that she does it, the whole process seems obvious but she was figuring it out herself and she made quite a few bad impressions on people due to appearance or lack of work samples. And this client in particular was an important one. A referred client. She couldn't disappoint.

Certain that she had everything she needed, Yukiko sat at her door next to Grimmjow, who looked ready to explode in impatience, and pulled on her only pair of nice shoes. White heels, short and strappy that all meet in the back and zips up. {"Alright, alright. I'm ready. We'll go."}

The cat was on his feet in a second and practically ran out the door the moment it opened. The woman sighed and chuckled at his excitement. _Well I guess that's to be expected. He'd been trying to find the spot for weeks now._

Yukiko locked the door behind her and lead the way for Grimmjow. He was visibly restraining himself from sprinting ahead simply out of not knowing where to go. She walked them down a few streets and made a few turns, even passing the grocery store. Grimmjow wasn't looking around himself and taking in his surroundings like she noticed him to do when she takes him somewhere new. _He must've gotten very familiar with the area. Maybe I should ask him to lead me somewhere one of these days._ She joked to herself.

It took a little bit of walking past the store to get to the subway. She started descending the stairwell but stopped halfway down when she realized she was missing a companion. Grimmjow was sitting at the top of the stairs looking at her. {"What?"}

He shook his head then followed along. Yukiko bought her ticket and the cat slipped under the turnstile. It seemed that they came during the slow period since there weren't many people in the station. They had a few minutes until the next train so the woman sat down on a bench against the wall and Grimmjow followed her. Since he came along she decided to give him an explanation on the subway system. He's guaranteed to be using it after today. {"The subways go a long distance and they follow a schedule meaning if you miss the last once for the day you're going to have to walk all the way home or wait until the next day when the trains start moving again. The schedule posted on the wall where I got my ticket. This station is the closest to the apartment. It's just called Station G. We're going to be going to Station J. Do you follow so far?"}

Grimmjow nodded yes so she continued. {"The subways are often packed between 6:30 to 8 AM and then again from 4:30 to 8 PM so try and avoid those times. Under no circumstances are you to ever go down on the tracks! If you can't get back up quickly enough the subway train will kill you."}

The pair of blue eyes watching her narrowed at her command but he didn't verbalize any annoyance towards her. They waited ignoring one another until the subway pulled up and Yukiko walked on the open cart and sat on an empty bench, Grimmjow sat close though she suspected it was to avoid attention from the other passengers. The ride to their desired station was short, a mere 13 minutes, and by the time the cat beside her seemed to get comfortable they were getting off.

Next they were back up the stairs and outside. This area was closer to more families with children then hers and that was really about all she knew about it. Yukiko walked them about another 15 or 20 minutes, she really wasn't concerned about estimating a time, until they reached a familiar wall. She looked down at the Arrancar who was looking up at her. {"This is it."}

Grimmjow's tail perked up taller than she ever saw and he started walking away from her. It shocked Yukiko when she felt a sting of loneliness. Unable to stop herself she whistled for his attention. When he turned to look at her she wasn't sure she could get the words out. She probably wouldn't have been able to if she had a voice to begin with. {"Even when you get your body back… Will you come visit me?"}

She saw a wave of shock roll over the cat as his ears jumped at attention and his eyes widened slightly only for them to relax just as quickly. He looked away, though he didn't turn his back. He didn't nod or meow. He just stood. Then without giving her an answer, Grimmjow walked away.

()

Grimmjow trotted away from the woman and her strange question. Just as quickly as he wanted to say "Hell no." he almost said "Why wouldn't I?"

Well, he couldn't say either so that saved him from embarrassing himself or hurting her feelings. He wasn't sure how she'd handle him if she could hear the words he wanted to say much of the time. He sighed and stretched trying to leave the confusion behind. Grimmjow wanted his body back, regardless of what it means for his situation with Yukiko. He carefully inspected his surroundings as he moved through the streets and sidewalks so that he can keep himself from getting lost. The area was all houses and he can hear children laughing and shrieking happily which kind of worried him. He's experienced the terror that is children when they think they've found a cat. The memory grubby hands and high pitched noises was enough to make him shudder. He checked the corners as he reached them on the look-out for the vile creatures. It was an odd thought but he was feeling relieved that Hollows don't reproduce themselves, more are simply made.

Not wanting to think about anything anymore, the Arrancar just focused on his surroundings and continued on his search. He now knew he was close, at least somewhat close, and he was excited at the prospect of getting his real body back. The longer he walked on four legs the more he hated it. Now he just needed to find Urahara and figure out a way to make him give Grimmjow his body back. It should be simple enough from here. Right?

Grimmjow heard a loud, slightly musical bell ringing. Wanting to see where it was coming from, he climbed up a nearby garbage can then from there a wall that rose up around the houses that filled the neighborhood. He still wasn't high enough so he rocked his hips to position himself properly then leapt onto a house. The building has multiple levels so it was a simple matter to jump up the different elevations until he was at the top of the house and it gave him a good view of his surroundings. He saw a tall squarish building not too far away. He could see a lot of movement inside the building and decided to ignore it. He took a look around him to see what else he can find from the vantage point. Off to his left there was a cluster of buildings taller than the houses and it gave him hope.

The cat made his way down the house then jumped from the wall directly to the ground, surprising a group of teenagers as he did. "Wah!" One jumped in surprise.

Grimmjow glanced at them and realized they looked familiar.

"Todo, you okay?" one asked.

This Todo guy had a bunch of little fading scars on his hand and arm. _Really familiar…_

"Hey… Isn't that the cat from last month?!" The third with a slightly crooked nose that wasn't that way last time shouted while pointing his finger.

 _Oh. That's why._ The Arrancar realized with annoyance. As much as he would like to rip them up and beat them bloody he already learned from experience that he can't in this body. So despite the intense blow to his pride, Grimmjow turn and ran in the direction he needed to go, ignoring the shouts of the teenagers.

To his excitement he felt a sense of familiarity to his surroundings and continued forward, his tail lifting higher and higher as the feeling continued. After weeks of searching, he finally found the busy shopping area that he had been looking for. Certain of which way he needed to go from here he made a left turn and continued on down the street and looked at all the builds around him. He always stood so high above them all that the Arrancar never realized how massive they really were. The humans were dwarfed by the structures and he even more so. _How can creatures as weak as humans construct such massive things?_ He wondered slightly. Sure Las Noches was considerably larger than any of these buildings, but it was built by Hollows. Hollows won't necessarily die if a piece a building falls on them while constructing it.

Grimmjow watched the buildings as he passed them. They seemed to be of the right appearance for where he was looking for and but no matter how much he racked his brain, the Arrancar just could not remember any details about the ones he passed or the turns he took. The good news was he was so close he can just use this street as a base point and only go so far down the turns before deciding it was the right way and try again.

And so he did this. For two hours Grimmjow systematically walked the streets and alleys of this little area of the Karakura Town. For two hours he walked and searched with the exciting hope that he was about to get his real body back. After two hours he found what he was looking for. The site where he came through to the World of the Living and was turned into a pathetic little cat. He was certain this was it. He saw it as he exited the Garganta. He was positive! It was definitely here, of that he was more certain than anything his entire search. Certain. And heartbreakingly disappointed.

It was just an open and empty space in a park that doesn't seem to get a lot of use. Urahara and Yoruichi hadn't done the experiment at their shop or home or whatever it was to them. They were out at a different location. And now, after a month of searching for this place, they weren't here. With probably no reason to come back.

Alone in a big clearing of dirt and patchy grass, the black cat sat with his entire body drooping as every drop of excitement and hope cruelly escaped him. If Grimmjow was a weak little human, he'd probably have started to cry. But he wasn't a human. He was a Hollow. A being without a heart. He will never cry. Never be capable of crying. He lost that part of himself when he formed the hole in his soul. The part that is able to feel the "softer" emotions as he liked to think of it since he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was he lost. All he could understand about it was when he felt, he felt strongly and sharply. Not that he ever gave it a lot of thought. Why think about what will never change?

 _What do I do now? Where do I even begin to look?_ He tried to come up with something. Some kind of answer, some definitive next step to finding his way back to his body. But none came to him. Feeling defeated in a way he never has before, Grimmjow began his trek back to the subway. He was going to go back to Yukiko's apartment.

()

Yukiko had a successful meeting with her new client. It had dragged on for a few hours since she liked to get a personal understanding of them even before discussing what she was going to make them. Fujita Yoko, a woman in her mid-fifties who lives Kameoka in the Kyoto prefecture. She is here visiting her sister, whom Yukiko had previously sold a painting to. The woman had bought something she painted from a vision, not that she would actually say that. It was something about a cat, strawberry and a butterfly if she remembers correctly. It was within the first week of living in Karakura that she painted it so whatever it was about must've already passed so she didn't bother with thinking about it anymore. Regardless of what it was, Fujita was impressed and wants Yukiko to paint something for her. She gave the younger woman a printed picture of the space that she wanted the painting to hang and had some general request for it. Nothing new to Yukiko.

She inspected the picture as she sat on the subway, imagining a variety of portraits and paintings to hang in the space, already liking a few idea. But mostly she was trying to distract herself from the thought of being alone in her apartment. She was used to Grimmjow's pattern of alternating spending the whole day out and, more or less, the whole day with her. Of course there was always a possibility in her mind that he would find what he was looking for and never come back but today… She was able to lead him to a close location of where he was searching for and the likelihood of him finding his destination was high enough that it was doubtful for him to not find it. He'd find what he was looking for and possibly not come back to her. She felt unexpectedly depressed at the thought of living alone again.

It wasn't that she was dependent on the company of other. Hell, she was a borderline shut-in. But she was surrounded by people most her life. Then she always had Nui. So when she became alone it felt sudden, even though it wasn't. But the sudden company of Grimmjow was welcomed and Yukiko was quick to become accustomed to having him with her every night. To no longer have that presence with her… How could she not start to feel lonely?

She didn't mean to let her mind wander to her roommate but it had and she was now walking back to her apartment. That's impressive, she didn't even remember stepping off the subway. The woman sighed and put her reference picture away and decided to hurry back home rather than wallow in her thoughts, that way she can fully bury herself in her work. She only wished she had been wearing her comfortable shoes that way she could just run back.

To her surprise and excitement Grimmjow was already home, loosely curled up on the folded futon beneath the window. Naturally she was filled with relief that she wasn't going to be alone but then she kind of felt guilt for it. He was still trapped in his cat body, even after he seemed confident that he'd be out of it. In fact, he seemed off. There was no way he didn't hear her enter the apartment and he was awake and facing her. He didn't acknowledged her though. He didn't lift his head, twitch his tail or anything. He just stared blankly across the room; not even looking like he was seeing anything. {"Grimmjow? Are you hurt?"} She asked, concerned.

He still did not respond to her. Yukiko walked across the room, placing down the sketch book and portfolio on her table on her way, and kneeled in front of the cat. He still didn't seem to see her so she gingerly put her hand on his head and began stroking him, following his spine. He blinked and she pet him a second, this one starting at the bridge of his nose and going over his eye and ear and down her side. She got a few more pets in, thoroughly enjoying how soft his fur is dry since the only time he gives her free reign to touch him is for his bath, before Grimmjow finally lifted himself up and started pulling away from her hand. A much nicer indication to not touch him than he used to give her.

Since he was responsive now she asked him, {"What's wrong?"}

The Arrancar waited a few seconds before jumping off the cushion and knocking over his stack of cards that were left on the table. He sifted through them until he had a satisfactory answer. **"** **I found where I was looking for but the person I needed was not there."**

 _That's really unfortunate._ Yukiko frowned for him in sadness. {"You can't just wait for him to come back?"}

The cat shook his head and went through the cards again. **"** **There didn't look like anything for him to go back for."**

 _No wonder he's so deflated._ She realized. {"What are you going to do then?"}

Grimmjow didn't look through his cards. He just sat. He didn't have an answer and she could see that it was making him depressed. Naturally she did the first thing she could think of to comfort the cat and that was pet him again. She rubbed his cheek with the back of her fingers and he seemed to respond positively to it for once. Behaving like a regular cat, he leaned in towards her hand and she changed it to scratch his cheek use her other hand to stroke him down his spine and tail. Grimmjow slowly started to pad closer to her and she went from petting his back to rubbing his belly and his back legs relaxed until he was laying on her hand and when her finger rubbing under his chin started to feel the vibrations in his throat and the low sound of a cat's purr filled her ears she felt more victorious than she probably should.

Unfortunately the depressed trance he seemed to be in broke after a few seconds of sweet and adorable purring and he jumped straight to his feet and glared at her, a deep growl flowing out of his throat now. Yukiko smirked impishly at him. {"What? You know you were enjoying it."}

Grimmjow hissed at her words, then seemed to remember that he now convey his thoughts to her so he sorted through his cards as quickly as he could. **"** **I am not a cat! Do not treat me like one!"**

{"You sure look like a cat to me."} Yukiko made sure to wear a devilish smirk when she said that. She knew it was a sore spot but riling him up was making him forget about being sad.

Grimmjow most certainly reacted without a shred of his previous sadness. He yowled angrily as he jumped at her chest. The woman let herself fall backwards with the cat on top of her. To her utter shock he started rubbing his face against her boobs and when she tried to swat him off he jumped over her hand and almost latched on to her left mound. She was still on her back and he ended up resting his chin on centered on it. The pair of blue eyes that looked at her look entirely amused and somehow even a little cocky.

Yukiko huffed, trying to look exasperated to hide that she was actually a bit embarrassed, and sat up to nearly toss him off of her. She angled her body away and wrapped her arms protectively around her chest. {"What was that about?"}

Grimmjow slowly curled and straightened the tip of his tail and sat tall. Yukiko was certain he was smirking and laughing at her. Finally he went to his cards to relay what he was thinking. **"** **A reminder. I'm a man."**

 _What was I expecting? I did antagonize him on purpose._ She admitted internally. {"You know, people comfort other people too. Would you prefer I pick you up and hug you?"}

His eyes softened for a second before he went through his cards again. **"** **I do not need your comfort."**

The woman smiled softly to him. {"How about you humor me then?"}

Grimmjow relaxed and let out a breath like a sigh. Yukiko went to her dresser and collected some pencils and her current sketch book then sat crossed legged at the table and began sketching out some ideas for the painting she needs to make. Fujita wanted the artist to bring some options in three days. It was more than enough time in Yukiko's opinion since she didn't have anything else to occupy her time. As she was sketching she felt a soft warmth come next to her. She smiled and lifted the Arrancar onto her lap. He tensed at first but settled even started to relax in the cradle of her legs while she mindlessly ran her hand over him.

* * *

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	11. Chapter 11

**Special long chapter for you lovelies! I hope you enjoy it :)**

 **New thing to keep track of (sorry). When you see *these* it indicates sign language. I'm also going to be putting quotation marks around the inner thoughts which are always in italics. I know its a lot to keep track you but you're all smart people, I believe you can handle it ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

Grimmjow lay on his side on Yukiko's folded up futon. He has been staring longingly at the painting leaning against her dresser, drying. Late the previous afternoon she had a vision and proceeded to stay up late, painting. The end result was a small black cat whose form pulsed into the much larger form of a panther. Yukiko thinks that it means he going to be getting real body back, and she suspects it will be soon. He remembered when it happened. The day after he had found where he was changed, they were having a conversation to let Yukiko practice her sign language.

...

When having conversations became a regular activity for them she made more kanji cards for him so he wouldn't have be so careful about how he structures his sentences and can say more. The talks can be somewhat enjoyable too. He has since learned that Yukiko was 22 and had lived all over the country. She moved to a new city every three months and she's been doing so for the past four years. The first two years she had been with the woman Nui while the last two she had been alone. She said the purpose of this was to hide from her village leader (someone who was very obviously a touchy subject) but when Grimmjow once again pointed out that it was stupid of her to use her real name she explained that they didn't originally but she was never good at adjusting to new names and now that she's actually in the government's system she would rather just use her real name. Supposedly the other woman, Nui, changes her name every time she moves. Yukiko also revealed that she was place in the Japanese government's personae documents because she had been arrested for selling her paintings on the street without some kind of license that allowed her to and when that happened they found out that she had no documented existence they created one and placed her under their care since it was such an anomaly and she was mute. Grimmjow couldn't entirely follow what she was saying when she started talking about governments and licenses but his take away was that the humans who run the country were unhappy that they didn't know she existed and they want to change that.

For his side, the Arrancar described his existence in Hueco Mundo. He told her about his time as an Espada serving Aizen; about the other Espada and mentioned his Fraccion which apparently warranted a string of questions regarding them. She wanted to know how and why he chose each of them to serve and work with him directly which turned into questions about what each was like individually and there seemed to be no end in sight about it so he decided to just tell her about how he met them while he was still an adjuchas, about some of the missions they went on as a unit then about how he led them to their deaths during an assault in Karakura Town. The mention of their deaths brought on a surprising question from her.{*"Do you miss them?"*}

He never thought about it. Does he miss them? **"No. I don't even think about them unless someone brings them up."**

She seemed almost bothered by his response. {*"Weren't they you're friends?"*}

Grimmjow swished his tail a bit now. **"No. They were my subordinates and I was their king. At least I was going to be once Aizen was gone but some shark took the throne while I was busy training for my rematch against Kurosaki."**

{*"He's the Shinigami that protects this city right?"*}

After the conversation turned to Ichigo he got too riled up to really talk about anything else and she couldn't get any more questions in so the woman ended up just closing her book and started to sketch while he cooled down. Though the constant drive for a fight with the boy was still there, he was calm enough to resume their conversation.

 **"Do you know how to find someone?"** He had taken some advice that Yukiko had given him that previous night after he came back defeated. Don't think about the problem. Leave it alone and think about unimportant things so you can think about it with fresh perspective. But now he wanted to think on getting himself back,.

When she didn't respond, didn't see it, Grimmjow mewed at her and patted his question. She shook her head. {*"I'm more of a run and hiding person, not a tracking person."*}

Grimmjow tried to raise his eyebrow in questioning but didn't have any. **"Bullshit. You fought a Hollow."**

{*"I ran it in circles then ran away."*} She reminded him.

 **"Whatever. I took a break from the search like you wanted. Now help me come up with something about finding the guy I need."**

{*"What is he like?"*}

 **"Shifty."**

After a long pause, during which Yukiko watched him with an expecting look on her face, she sighed. {*"Anything else. Height? Build? Hair color?"*}

 _"Oh."_ Grimmjow pictured the guy in his mind, a bit difficult to do without growling. **"Tall, average, blond. But he always wears a white and green hat and wooden sandals."**

She looked at him with a thoughtful expression. {*"Is he your friend?"*}

The Arrancar hissed angrily at the question.

Yukiko's face relaxed and she looked like she wasn't the least bit surprised. {*"You don't have any friends do you?"*}

He growled and looked away from her.

She snapped her fingers to get his attention. {*"Would Kurosaki know where to find him?"*}

Grimmjow's ears perked up and he vigorously nodded his head.

{"Why don't we just catch him the next time a Hollow appears and explain that we need to find the other guy?"*}

Grimmjow was about nod yes again but now he wasn't sure. This plan would involve telling Kurosaki that he was turned into a cat. The humiliation of telling the one person he wants to defeat more than anyone that he's been reduced to a helpless animal was more than a little unbearable. It absolutely cannot happen.

 **"You go alone. Tell him you're looking for Urahara. That should work."**

{*"You don't want to be there?"*}

He just looked away again. He doesn't want to explain himself to her.

...

{"Want to study with me?"}

The Arrancar barely lifted his head to look at what the book was. Sign language advanced. He read the title with a small sense of awe since he remembered her coming to the apartment with the same type of book for beginners barely a week ago. She is sure moving through them quickly. He blinked slowly with that acknowledgement but looked away, unmoving.

She put her hand on his shoulder patted gently to get his attention again. {"The message isn't going anywhere. So until a Hollow shows up study with me."}

He looked away again and sighed. Though this time he stretched after a few seconds and moved to the floor. _"Why not? It's not like I have a better use of time."_

He went to the table to get his cards and picked them up by a rubber band that Yukiko used to keep them together, then went to stand in front of the woman. The pair easily fell into a routine of Grimmjow using his cards while Yukiko referred to her book and signed while speaking to hold a conversation. They had done this with her last book too. He saw it as a way to pass the time. Things get rather boring in that apartment and they both wanted to talk to someone.

Right away this time she asked him, {*"What did you do after Aizen was gone?"*}

 **"I already told you. I trained while someone else took my throne."**

{*"Is that it? You trained, came here and turned into a cat?"*} She looked at him with a deadpan expression.

Grimmjow flattened his ears and growled slightly. **"Done being a bitch?"**

She just smirked and raised her eyebrows playfully.

 **"I stopped to fight in a war against some powered humans who tried to take over Hueco Mundo and wanted to destroy the Shinigami's world. After that I ended up getting sucked into helping rebuild Las Noches."**

{*"With who?"*}

 **"Mostly the other surviving former Espada. We all ended up living there again and Tier uses it as her palace."**

{*"What are the other Espada like?"*}

 **"All the ones who live there are either boring or weak females for some reason. The only two who would pose a challenge won't fight and the ones who will fight are too weak to even make it fun."**

She almost seemed panicked when he created that message. Yukiko even forgot that she was supposed to be signing her words as she spoke. {"All of the other Arrancar are female?!"}

Grimmjow's ears twitched as if she just screamed. **"No. There are plenty of male Arrancar. All the ones who were Espada when Aizen was defeated and still at Las Noches are female."**

{"Oh."} She was visibly relieved when he explained further.

He purred slightly as he mentally smirked. **"You're a happy about that."**

{"I'm not happy. I was just surprised."} She looked like she was emphasizing the word happy.

 _"Sure..."_ He wasn't buying it.

She wasn't asking anymore questions. Judging from the slight pink tint to her cheeks and the lack of eye contact, she probably didn't want to risk embarrassing herself again.

 _"Cute."_ Grimmjow thought suddenly and his tail started thrashing slightly in irritation at his physical restrictions.

She stood and stretched her arms, letting the book clatter to the floor. {"I have to go and meet that client from Kyoto again to get her decision. Do you want to come?"}

Grimmjow stretched too. It'd be a lot better than sitting around here. Besides, Yukiko will know when a Hollow comes before anyone else. He followed her out the door and into the subway for another ride. It was actually rather relaxing to ride on the vehicle, though if he was in any kind of hurry it would be excruciatingly slow. Just like last time he rode with her they got off at the first stop from the apartment and Yukiko lead the way except this time she steered them away from the residential neighborhoods and they ended up in a area with small, friendly looking buildings with wide windows and the whole street smelled of food. They were cafes. She sat in a metal chair at an outdoor table and Grimmjow jumped up to sit on the table with her.

From his viewpoint the Arrancar watched the humans. He's had a lot of experience with small and relatively young humans but this is possibly the first time he's been surrounded by nothing but adults. It was significantly calmer than any of his previous experiences with human crowds. "Good afternoon. How may we serve you today?" A man in his late twenties wearing a white button shirt under a black vest, tucked into black pants asked.

Yukiko pulled a small notepad from her shoulder bag and wrote out an order. **"I'd like a cup jasmine tea and could we have a small bowl of water for my friend?"**

The waiter looked slightly confused at the written message but read it and nodded with a smile. He came back with their drinks and asked Yukiko if she would like to order any food. Grimmjow peeked at her notepad as she wrote her response. **"No thank you. I'm meeting someone."**

The man nodded and left them to themselves. Grimmjow continued to watch the people around them until he felt a hand on his face. He glared over at the woman with him, who was currently rubbing the side of his head beneath his ear while she watched what was happening around her too. Since she wasn't looking perhaps there was no harm in enjoying the touch, so he leaned into it slightly and allowed himself to start purring. _"She won't be able to hear right?"_

They continued like this for probably about five minutes. Yukiko looking everywhere but Grimmjow as she stroked and rubbed him and drank her tea, and Grimmjow pretending to watch their surroundings but actually peeking at her while he enjoyed it. When she stopped, it was abrupt and he almost fell over when the hand he had been leaning on was pulled away. He glared at her for it but saw that she was standing to greet a lady in a knit sweater and long flower print skirt. _"Oh. Must be the woman that hired her."_ He realized.

"Ametsuchi-san. It's lovely to see you again."

Yukiko smiled sweetly and bowed slightly.

As Fujita sat down across from the younger woman she looked at Grimmjow with a smile. "Who is this?"

She reached out and placed her hand gently on his head, and lightly ran it down his head and neck. While he managed to restrain himself from lashing out at the older lady he couldn't suppress the low growl or glare. "Oh!" The hand retreated quickly.

Yukiko quickly threw her hand onto his head and pushed it down slightly as if she was forcing him to bow. His tail thrashed violently now and the growl increased in intensity. When the hand was removed he glared at its owner and saw that she was holding up a note that read, **"I'm sorry about him. Grimmjow doesn't like strangers touching him."**

The woman read it then chuckled. "I understand. Cats are rather sensitive creatures. I should have asked before just reaching out like a child."

 _"I ain't fucking sensitive!"_ Said cat cursed in his head.

Yukiko seemed to sigh in relief but shot Grimmjow a quick glare.

"Now then. You said you'd have some ideas for me to look over. May I see them?" The woman said, getting down to business.

The younger woman nodded and opened her sketch book. While Grimmjow was mildly interested in the work he really only half listened to the conversation. He mostly just settled down and relaxed, half asleep.

It wasn't until he felt someone poking him that the two woman regained his attention. It was Yukiko, looking a bit amused at that. She started writing out a message for him. _"Why the hell won't she just ask me like she normally would?"_ This wasn't the first time he noticed her insistence on writing to him instead of mouthing the words when they were with someone else. He'll have to ask about it if he remembers when they get back to her apartment.

 **"Fujita-san is going back to her home tomorrow. Since that doesn't give me enough time to paint she invited us to come at the end of the week for the night so we can enjoy a festival that is taking place this coming weekend. Want to come?"**

He heard the lady laugh. "Do you really think he can read that?"

Grimmjow rolled his eyes at her as he thought it over. Not that it was really a choice. Assuming he's still in his current body for some reason there's no reason for him not to.

He nodded yes.

"Oh wow! What a smart boy. In that case, I look forward to having you both as my guest." She said as she wrote her information down.

The two women stood and bowed to each other formally. While Fujita walked away Yukiko finished her tea without sitting back down. She pulled out some money from her bag and started to walk away but she failed to watch where she was going and bumped into their waiter who was carrying a tray loaded with half-empty plates. When she bumped into him they both fell to the ground with all of the glassware with a loud crash.

Grimmjow ran across the table to look down at her. She was blushing madly as her face and body was splattered with a variety of pastries and sauces and surrounded by shattered glass. For about a second it looked almost erotic.

"Miss! Are you okay?!" The waiter was quick to get up to his feet and grabbed her hand to help her up.

She flinched and skirted away from his grasp, afraid. Grimmjow jumped down from the table and pushed at her back to stop her. She almost shuffled back on to the glass.

When she felt him she looked back at him wide eyed. Then she quickly shot up to her feet, picked the Arrancar up without his consent and bowed once again before rushing off from the cafe.

Grimmjow let her carry him as she ran away, wondering silently why she was squeezing him so tightly.

()

Yukiko sat at her table across from Shimata as they held their regular sign language lesson. He came over at least three times a week for them and he seemed to think she didn't notice that he stayed longer each time. The first lesson only lasted forty minutes, today he's still there after an hour and half with no signs of being ready to leave. The man made Yukiko uncomfortable to say the least. He regularly made half-hidden attempts to make physical contact with her and every time she would avoid his touch. The man's behavior made her all the more thankful for Grimmjow. The Arrancar was always with her during the man's visits. Yukiko didn't quite understand why he was, but she wasn't going to ask. Pointing it out might make him quick to leave.

"What's wrong Yuki-chan? You seem distracted?" Shimata asked with a smile that was so overly friendly it was creepy.

She signed out *Nothing.* Knowing full well that if she wrote her answer to him he would pester her for the gesture. She also tried to refocus on the actual lesson in hopes that he would hurry up and finish that way.

They had covered a lot in his frequent visits, it's perhaps the only good thing about the man. While she can have a fairly decent conversation now she doesn't know why she would bother. She doesn't know anybody. Doesn't communicate with anyone except for Grimmjow and her clients. Well, she sends letters to Nui but that doesn't involve any kind of personal interaction. Though that hasn't stopped her from doing her best to increases her knowledge of the language, even purchasing self-teaching books so that she can learn faster. The faster she learns it the faster she will not have to see this man on a regular basis.

*"So, Yuki-chan. I noticed that it always smells wonderful in your apartment. How would you feel about making us a delicious meal for your next lesson?"* Shimata asked with both his mouth and hands.

" _Hell no."_ She answered internally and even heard a low growl from Grimmjow. Naturally that wasn't what she actually answered with. She instead she just shook her head and signed out *No. I can't afford to waste food on an unneeded meal like that.*

He continued to smile and laughed a bit at her. *"I would gladly bring the food. Plus you could walk me through it so we can cook together. That would be fun."*

He clearly loved the idea but she was utterly repulsed. Grimmjow too judging by the hiss he let out at the man. *Are we going to continue with the lesson or are we done?*

Shimata leaned back and frowned slightly. "Oh, I suppose we're done." He got up and collected his things. "Have a good time in Kyoto. I'll be seeing you when you get back."

The moment he said that Yukiko felt a strong impulse that signaled an incoming vision. She focused on the present moment as much as she could until he was out of the apartment then let it go, allowing the vision to take her over. It was a single overwhelming image. A red and white butterfly locked in a glass box surrounded by a dozen or so eyes, watching it.

Yukiko blinked as she pulled herself back into reality. She had crumpled over and her face was on the table. She must have hit it hard because she felt a sore spot on her forehead. When she looked around her she saw Grimmjow sitting next to her watching. She started petting him roughly over his face to force him to close his eyes and move away from her. She didn't want him to see the dread that filled her. She knew a bad omen when she saw one, and that most definitely was one.

She looked over at the series of painting for Fujita that lay against her dresser. A tiger walking through a bamboo forest, but the image was broken up into a stream of four canvases that attached at irregular points. It was complete but she just wanted to make sure there were no finishing touches that needed done. She needed to work on her vision painting. The need didn't just make her itch. It burned. Once again, not a good sign.

She rummaged through her blank canvases and pulled a smaller one and got to work. Luckily the image was simple and quiet easy for her to produce, only requiring two hours to get it right. Grimmjow watched her work for those two hours; she can see him trying to make sense of the image. She already understood what it meant more or less but she'll keep it to herself. Tomorrow they leave for Kyoto and she didn't want to spoil it. For whatever reason, it had been a quiet week and she was excited that she'll get the company for the festival.

Yukiko cooked them a simple dinner of rice and curry and they ate without conversation. She knew Grimmjow was disappointed about not getting his body back as quickly as he had thought after the woman saw it coming but she reminded him that visions don't exactly come with a date stamp. Also every day it doesn't happen means there's a greater chance for the next. Well except for this tomorrow since they'll be leaving for the next night.

Yukiko kept her mind on all of the things she wanted to do tomorrow with Grimmjow in Kyoto while she gave him a bath. The way he relaxed under her touch during his bath times always made her happy. Actually these past few days Grimmjow had become increasingly more comfortable, or at least tolerable, of her touches and she had caught him purring more than once. _"He probably thinks I didn't notice it today at the cafe."_ She laughed to herself.

After Grimmjow's bath she sent him out so she could take one herself and then the pair settled in for the night.

...

Yukiko woke up somewhat early, for her anyways, and cooked a simple breakfast of fried eggs with sausage. The smell woke up Grimmjow, like usual, and she had the table set with their food and drinks before he made it to the table. She rushed through her meal so that she could hurry and clean the cookware. When Grimmjow was finished she was quick to clean up his dishes as well.

He disappeared outside for a few minutes to use the bathroom then reappeared in her window. After she folded up her futon Yukiko closed and locked her window. She grabbed her pre-packed bag and her paintings, individually wrapped in newspaper and tied together. The pair raced out of the apartment, and she almost failed to stop and lock her door. The painting were large and awkward to carry but they were very heavy so once she got a comfortable grip on them it was an easy trek to the subway. They were going to go from the subway to a train and then from there it will take a bus ride to get to their destination. A three hour trip and as much as she wished she could simply sleep it away there would be no guarantee that she'd get them off at the correct stops and she needed to protect her paintings. So instead she passed the time reading through a book full of images of paintings. She had picked it up two days ago in preparation for the trip and had been careful to not let herself open it until today. Just to be safe she also relayed their route to Grimmjow so he can listen for their destinations.

The subway ride was fairly short since it only remains in the city but after that the train ride alone was going to be an hour and forty minutes. While she knew she was going to be awake for the entirety of it she expected Grimmjow to take a nap, but he was actually sticking the ride out with her. The little Arrancar had settled into her lap and alternated between looking at the pages of her book with her and standing against her to watch out the window. It was a peaceful trip and she cursed herself when her mind thought about it being a calm before a shit storm. _"NO! We're going to have a nice time and then Grimmjow is going to get his proper body back. End of story."_

She started petting the cat in her lap for comfort and was a little scared that not even her book could preoccupy her. Thankfully she heard the announcement of their station and closed her book. Grimmjow jumped off her lap to let her up and followed her off the train as they headed for the bus station.

The bus ride was less than an hour and to her joy Fujita was waiting for them at their final stop. "Ametsuchi-san, Grimmjow-chan! Welcome to Kameoka!"

Yukiko saw Grimmjow flinch at the way the woman called him and she smirked at it, but she gave the woman her attention quickly and returned a greeting with a friendly smile. The woman helped load the paintings into the back seat of her little yellow car along with Yukiko's personal luggage. She sat in the front seat with Grimmjow on his lap and Fujita drove them to her home. While the older woman spoke excitedly about the festival Yukiko and Grimmjow watched out the window at the small but clearly growing city. It was clearly transitioning to become more modern but clung tightly to their traditional culture.

"Are you ready for the festival?"

When their hostess asked that, Yukiko could only look at her with a wide smile and nod her head happily.

()

Grimmjow watched with faint amusement as the two women unwrapped the four paintings and started marking their placement on the wall. The older woman offered to call a male neighbor but Yukiko insisted that she can handle it, and he was vaguely impressed when she proved herself right. She had hammered in the nails and hung the painting perfectly while Fujita fetched them tea and a bowl of water for the cat. Only Grimmjow wanted tea too so he helped himself to Yukiko's cup. Their hostess laughed and while his companion frown she didn't seem too bothered and left it for him to have.

With all of her work done the two women admired the completed picture while he looked at too, fairly impressed himself. Of course a big part if it was probably because it was a large and dangerous cat.

Afterwards Fujita made a late lunch for the three of them then lead them to a guest room. Yukiko placed her bag down on the floor next to a small bed and sat on it. Grimmjow joined her up there so that he can examine their sleeping quarters. The bed didn't feel as comfortable as the futon back in the apartment. He felt the bed shift and when he looked at Yukiko she was beginning to remove her clothes, her jacket already gone. When they made eye contact her eyes sharpened. {"Do not watch."} She ordered.

Grimmjow huffed out a sigh but complied and padded up to the head of the bed and burrowed himself under the blanket so she could hurry up and get changed. He didn't know what was taking so long but he was certain she was spending more time getting dressed than she usually does, it must have been at least ten minutes. When she finally clapped to signal that he may come out he was actually speechless and his jaw may or may not have been hanging open slightly.

Yukiko had changed out of her regular pants and tee shirt and into a royal blue kimono with a practical river of gold and tan flowers and gold, white and red butterflies flowing upwards at an angle from the bottom hem of both the skirt and sleeves. There was a single gold flower on her shoulder with smaller tan flowers next to it and a single butterfly. Her waist was bound with a gold obi that was patterned with tan waves and had a green, red, and white rope tied around it and hem guard rising up beneath the obi and the inner sleeve were both soft red with darker shade of red cloud like swirls. Her long copper hair was wrapped and spun into a bun on the right side of her head and decorated with red metal flowers and many smaller white flowers.

 _"Wow..."_ Was about the only thing his brilliant mind could come up with. Well, if that's the only response he can think of then maybe it's a good thing he can't actually voice his thoughts. When several moments passed he still had not made any kind of motion her should shook with laughter. {"Is that a good response?"}

Grimmjow's entire body perked up and he could no longer make eye contact, but he gave her a single meow. She will know that it means yes. She sat down next to him and pulled on a pair of traditional socks, then a small bag that she fill with some money and hung it from a string on her wrist. She looked at Grimmjow with a smile. {"Ready to go?"}

The Arrancar jumped off the bed and got a head start for the door. She plucked a pair of polished dark purple platform sandals from her bag and followed. He waited for her at the front door of the house while she bowed farewell to the older woman and slipped into her shoes at the genka then raced off with Grimmjow to the festival location around some local shrine. It should be easy enough to find since there were already groups of other humans dressed in traditional and nice clothes all moving in the same direction.

The walk wasn't short but it wasn't bad either. Yukiko slowed her pace and they now walked calmly with the crowd as the wave of people all moved towards the festival grounds. The stalls had already been set up and the delicious smell of festival food filled the air. Grimmjow raced off at the smell of something juicy and meaty. He found a stall that was grilling chunks of red meat and sat in front of the stall, licking his lips as he devised a method of thievery. But apparently that was unnecessary as Yukiko approached beside him and ordered a stick of beef chunks, looking down and smiling at him. He followed her as she walked away from the stall, never taking his eyes off the food in her hand, until she stopped at a stone bench and sat. Grimmjow jumped up and sat next to her before her butt was even on the surface. {"You do realize we just ate, right?"}

 _"So."_ Grimmjow thought when she finally took a chunk of meat off with her mouth for herself before placing it next to her on a small paper napkin for him to eat it off of. When he finished Yukiko lead him back into the crowd. He wasn't sure where they were going but he followed anyways. It was getting darker now and he watched as the workers in the stalls start to light the small spherical paper lanterns that line the walk ways. When he turned back to see which way Yukiko was going she was gone from his sight. _"Damn woman. Why can't you stay where I can see you?!"_

Looking all around him, Grimmjow couldn't find her anywhere. Only strangers stepping all around and over him. While no one was stepping on him they weren't paying him any attention and it seemed to be more a matter of luck. The Arrancar jumped out of the way of one set of feet and immediately into the path of another. He started yowling to get the humans' attention, successfully stopping a woman in wooden clogs from stepping on his tail and it gave him a chance to break out of the rush of people and hop onto the counter of a stall that was selling masks. "Hey! Shoo cat!"

The stall worker tried to send him off but Grimmjow just ignored the man and searched the crowd for Yukiko. When he caught a glimpse of royal blue he started yowling again to call her his way. Copper eyes fell on him and the woman pushed her way through the river of people to get to the stall. She plucked the cat up and held him at eye level. {"Are you okay?"}

Grimmjow nodded yes and so Yukiko held him closer to herself. She looked at the stall owner and bowed slightly, probably in apology for the Arrancar jumping on his counter, and returned to the crowd while still carrying him. Grimmjow pushed his front paws off her chest to get some distance between their faces and looked at her then struggled slightly. She shook her head. {"It'd be safer if you didn't walk here."}

Then she pushed him up higher to her shoulder and Grimmjow pulled himself to stand on her then balanced himself to snake his way around to her other shoulder, using her as a mobile perch. From his place he watched as Yukiko walked them past all of the lantern lit stalls and up very old looking stone stairs carved into the mountain side. This area was even more crowded and the trek was slow going, the sky had gone from reddish orange to black and riddled with stars before they made it to the top. She had passed the time of their ascent by scratching Grimmjow's cheek and chin but it was otherwise boring. When they got to the top of the stairs there was a Torii at which she bowed before walking through. Once pass it the area was totally flat and open save for the old shrine buildings accented with red painted wood. The shrine ground was filled with more people but there was clearly more space than below in the stalls so it didn't feel as crowded. Up at there, Yukiko washed her hands and mouth in a series of steps that seemed unnecessarily complicated to Grimmjow then waited in another line. All of this waiting was truly starting to irritate the Arrancar but he didn't dare leave to look around the shrine for something to do, certain that he'd not find her again if he did. Not certain of what they were waiting for though he looked back and forth at the line. _"She's not going to just leave it after waiting this long. Right?"_ He debated and eventually hopped off his perch and walked up the line to find out what it was exactly they were waiting for. He made it to the destination and learned that people were ringing a bell, dropping coins in a box then bowing, praying and bowing again. _"That's it? All these people here to just pray? If you're going to wait around for this long it should be for something interesting."_

"Mommy, mommy! What can I wish for?" a little girl asked obnoxiously loud.

A woman with the child sighed. "It's not so much a wish as is a prayer. You are asking the shrine's god to grant your desire."

"So it's wishing to the god!" The child argued back.

"No, it's different."

Grimmjow didn't stick around to continue listening to the stupid argument and returned walking down the line until he found Yukiko. She opened her arms for him and he jumped back up into them then swiftly climbed up to her shoulder again. He resolved to wait patiently for their turn. While he didn't believe in Gods it wouldn't hurt to ask whatever spirit was here to get him his body back.

When Yukiko stepped up to the box and rang the bell Grimmjow leaped down, then jumped up to swipe the bag hanging on her wrist. She bent down and opened it for him, looking very confused. He reached in and as best as he could, pinched a few coins between his paws and tossed them in. He missed Yukiko's laugh but waited for her to drop in money herself the pair bowed, clapped and bowed, following the same pattern as the other people. _"I don't care who is listening but whoever you are, give me my body back!"_

When they turned to leave the Arrancar saw every human watching with mixtures of shock and awe. They have probably never seen a cat pray. Grimmjow jumped back up to her shoulder and she walked them to a draw box with a large crowd gathered around it, but not nearly so quiet and formal as before. She pointed to the top of the box next to the opening to urge him to jump down then drew a small brightly colored slip from the box. {"Your turn."}

When Grimmjow reached in his arm when all the way to his shoulder but he felt something against his finger tips and latched on with his claws to pull it up then Yukiko immediately picked him up and moved them so others could have a turn. On the fortune slip he pulled it read **"Slight good luck"**.

{"Not bad."} She said smiling.

He looked at her paper. **"A little misfortune"**. That doesn't sound good. When they settled in a relatively empty spot Grimmjow completely unrolled his fortune to finish reading it.

 **"Direction- North**

 **Desire- Your wish is imminent**

 **Expected Person- You will find this friend**

 **Lost Articles- You are not yet ready to find it this year**

 **Travel- You will be moving often**

 **Business- Embracing new partners will prove most beneficial**

 **Studies- Do not fear new subjects**

 **Market- Avoid major decisions with money to avoid calamity**

 **Disputes- Many and often but few will be long lasting**

 **Romance- Flowers will bloom this year**

 **Changing Homes- You must choose**

 **Child Birth- Nothing to worry about**

 **Illness- Stay out of the rain to ensure health**

 **Marriage- It is a matter of the soul"**

Grimmjow read through the paper and didn't get it as a concept. Why do human insist on some paper telling them how their life will go? He wanted to read what was said on Yukiko's, for curiosity's sake of course, but was disappointed when he saw her tying the paper to a tree with hundreds of other ones. From what he could see, nearly all of the ones on there indicated some level of misfortune. He pushed his towards the tree too but she picked it up and held on to it, placing it in her bag. {"You should keep it. It's supposed to give you good luck so make sure you carry it with you when you get your body back."}

The Arrancar rolled his eyes at the words but it's not like he can argue. He just hopped back into her arms and up to her shoulder so they can start their walk back down the stairs.

()

Yukiko's shoulder was starting to hurt slightly from the weight of the cat on it but she didn't really mind. She took them back down into the stall area and they played games. While Grimmjow couldn't participate in many there were some that he could like ring toss and to many people's surprise, herself included, a water shooter game where they raced to fill a balloon. He beat her in the ring toss but not in the water shooter, nothing can beat having two hands for that type of game. In a slightly twisted sense of humor on her part, she picked a stuffed black cat as her prize; smirking cheekily at Grimmjow when he glared at her with a growl. None of the items from the stall he won at held his interest so Yukiko picked a small green paper fan with yellow butterflies on it. He watched as she played some other games that he could not participate in like goldfish scooping and yo-yo fishing.

She was have a lot of fun and was overjoyed that Grimmjow seemed to be enjoying himself too. He mewed in her ear and pointed to a stall of masks, the same one that she had found him at earlier that evening. She skipped over to it and inspected the masks. Looking through them she found one that she couldn't resist. A cat mask with green and blue accent lines instead of the traditional red. She purchased it and carefully put it on the upper left side of her head, out of her face but partially covering one ear.

Grimmjow had jumped back onto the counter and she let him get a good look at her. {"What do you think? Cute?"}

The cat tilted his head and closed his eyes but gave her a single meow to indicate yes. She laughed at the way he was reluctant to give the compliment but also couldn't help but smile softly. When he looked at her again she was still smiling and she extended her elbow for him. {"We've got one last thing to do then I think it's time we go in for the night."}

He jumped up her elbow then onto her shoulder and mewed in her ear in agreement.

Yukiko walked back through the crowd, which was now spreading out in searches for good spots, and towards the shrine steps again but half way up them she left the path and walked through the sparse trees until she found what she was looking for. A little clearing that overlooked the festival grounds and the town beyond.

She sat down on the grass and Grimmjow jumped to the ground beside her. {"Fujita-san said that this is a good spot to watch the fireworks."}

The cat tilted his head in confusion.

{"Fireworks always occur at the end of festivals. But I guess you haven't gone to many before, have you?"}

A head shake no.

She thought about what she had seen him doing during his apparently new experience. {"Grimmjow. Do you believe in Gods?"}

His tail whipped slightly and he shook his head no again.

{"So you prayed just because?"}

He seemed to shrug at that.

{"What if I told you Gods exist?"} She said with a serious expression.

Grimmjow flexed his claws and hissed. Either he was unhappy at the proposed question or he wanted to fight them. She'll have to ask him again when they have his cards.

The questions came to an abrupt end when a loud boom resounded through the festival grounds. The pair looked out into the sky to see the remnants of bright red lights fade just as another explosion of color started. One after another giant flowers of light and color bloomed in the sky before them. In this moment, Yukiko felt more at peace than she had in a long time. She could feel herself smiling gently and looked over at Grimmjow to see what his feline expression looked like. While it wasn't as easy to read as a person's she learned to markers of what would mean the different expressions on a human face.

But when she looked beside her the little black cat was no longer there. Instead it was the form of a man with striking blue hair and eyes. He had a strong jaw and a calm, peaceful smile on his face.

Yukiko was no longer captivated by the fireworks, instead she watched the ethereal form of the man she knew must have been Grimmjow. She watched the way the bright colors of the fireworks lit up his face and eyes and the slightly protruding fragment of a Hollow mask from his other cheek. She looked him up and down now. He was sitting with one knee propped up and an elbow resting on it while the majority of his weight was resting on his other hand that he leaned from.

Yukiko looked down at that hand. It seemed strong with its fingers slightly splayed out for stability. Yukiko rested her hand on his and when she did the ethereal form vanished and she was holding the paw of a cat. She didn't look at him; she just returned to staring at the fireworks with less interest than before. But she refused to take her hand off of his.

 _"Whoever lords over this shrine, thank you for granting my wish. Thank you for letting me see what Grimmjow's real face is."_

...

Yukiko and Grimmjow returned to Fujita's home late into the night. They were both moving sluggishly and clearly exhausted. Unfortunately she had to remove her kimono and fold it properly, along with her hair ornament, socks and sandals. As she did this Grimmjow laid on the bed and she didn't even bother checking to ensure he wasn't peeking, something that she had taken to doing routinely should she remove any piece of clothing in front of him after his little reminder to her just over a week ago now.

Once she was dressed in a loose top and cotton shorts and her traditional ware put back in her bag, she kneeled at the bed and looked at Grimmjow. He rolled to look back at her after a moment, probably feeling himself getting stared at. Yukiko smiled at him again. {"Thanks for coming."}

He chirped slightly, a sound she had never heard him make before.

Feeling braver than ever, the woman leaned forward and kissed the cat right on his muzzle. It was a simple little peck but she could see that his eyes widened as his ears and even whiskers stood on end. He probably wasn't expecting that. Well, she wasn't either.

Yukiko crawled into the bed under the blanket, shoving Grimmjow out some his place, and she laid her head on the pillow. She glanced down at the Arrancar who was still watching her. {"Good night Grimmjow."}

He shifted a bit but then moved and curled up against her for the night.

* * *

 **If the chapter seemed a bit vague I'm sorry. I'm trying to condense the less important stuff and decided to extend this chapter to hurry along on the story. I expect next chapter will be the last one with kitty Grimmjow. Comments, complaints, reviews all make for a happy author so do it and I'll love you~**

 **Yay Comments! (´** **｡** **•** **ω** **•** **｡** **`) :**

 **XD-kaycee: Thanks, I really liked that chapter too. I've got a lot planned for after Grimmjow gets his body back. The story will be going on for a while :)**

 **Silent Songstress Sorceress: Hehe. Yes, Grimmjow is really starting to enjoy her.**

 **Jane: Awe, thank you!**

 **Emzy2k11: Yeah, he's getting a bit more comfortable with showing a cuddly side.**

 **Sytacus: Haha, I totally get the feeling of reading until you get to the end of a new story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.**

 **beautiful-note2895: Thank you! And you kind of got your answer regarding getting Ichigo's help in this chapter. Let me know when you get your story going, I'm always interested in reading new Grimmjow/OC stories :)**

 **MrsSwordslover: Of course Urahara did something dirty like that. It's Urahara. I hope how she reacts to Grimmjow's real body doesn't disappoint (not this chapter, when he actually gets his form back. I've got a really good conversation planned for that moment). As said before, I extended this chapter and condensed the content a bit to get to the man-body-goal faster.**


	12. Chapter 12

**We made it guys! Sorry it took so long to get this up. This is kind of where the story goes dark. Just a warning. Alrighty, let's get to it!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

Grimmjow watched out the window at the darkening scenery from beside Yukiko as the train rushed them back to Karakura. He was half asleep, the woman completely so. The pair had stuck around at the old woman's home town for breakfast and even lunch, Yukiko felt no sense of rush to get back to her little apartment. Actually she didn't seem to want to at all. He didn't get what she was putting off but it was starting to irritate him. Grimmjow wasn't going to get his body back somewhere hours away from Urahara. When she finally agreed to leave he noticed a sense of dread flash through her again, like the previous day.

The Arrancar glanced up at the woman. She seemed to be sleeping comfortably so whatever she was thinking about before clearly couldn't have been important if she was able to do that.

Grimmjow stretched his legs and back. He was tired. Today had been long and the pair had spent half of it loitering around so now that they were finally traveling again it was kind of exhausting in a restless kind of way. The constant waiting for them to move on fried all of his energy and he just wanted to sleep now even though he was so anxious to get back to Karakura. Just as he decided to give up and settled himself on the seat as far from Yukiko as he could to take a nap an electronic ding went rang from the ceiling of the train car. "Next stop: Karakura Town."

He groaned now. _"_ _Shitty timing…"_

Yukiko didn't as much as flinch to the announcement so Grimmjow was left to wake her up. _"_ _Yay…"_ He thought unenthusiastically. While he tried to remain the same as always with her there was an annoyingly persistent slight awkwardness he felt with her since she kissed him. He couldn't quite figure out why he felt weird about it and that annoyed him even more. Was it because it was so random? Because he is still a cat? Because it was Yukiko? _"_ _Just ignore it all."_ He ordered himself; he still needed to wake up the woman after all.

He got on her lap and stood his body straight up, reaching for her face but stopped. He didn't want to be hesitant about it but he couldn't get his hand to smack her like he wanted to. His claws flexed and he growled slightly in his own frustration. It was then then that he realized that he was balancing himself on his back feet rather than leaning on her boobs for support. Was he seriously not taking advantage of her unguarded chest right now too?!

Grimmjow yowled in complete irritation and jumped, grabbing her loosely braided pigtail that was tied just at her shoulder leaving most of her hair to fall freely, and yanked her entire head down and slamming it into the window of the train. She most definitely woke up to that. She looked over at him with wide, shocked eyes but they narrowed and she frowned when she understood it was just him. Rubbing her head gingerly she spoke. {"What?"}

Grimmjow's tail was whipping back and forth and he just looked out the window. On cue, the train slowed down and the voice made another announcement, "Now arriving at Karakura Town."

He could see in the window's reflection that Yukiko made a face of realization and stood up, stretching herself upwards. She removed her bag from the storage compartment above and the two left the train. Grimmjow was still irritated though it was mostly with himself for being so weird about the woman today, then again she was the cause of his weirdness so he was right to be irritated with her. They walked the short distance to the subway and this time the helpless woman stayed awake for the ride, he partially hoped she would fall asleep so he could slam her head again. He missed having fists, nothing is as relaxing as the feeling of crushing bones and tenderizing flesh beneath is knuckles. While it was unlikely that Yukiko would be on the receiving end of it he could always punch Kurosaki bloody, if he had his fists that was.

When they got off to transfer onto a different track Grimmjow realized he knew where they were, he opted out of boarding the train this time. Yukiko followed after him so he hissed at her and waved his paw to shoo her off; he'll walk back from here, we wanted some time alone to consider his current situation. It wasn't like he had never kissed or been kissed before, far from it. It gets fairly boring in Hueco Mundo after all you've got to get creative to pass the time. _"_ _But she doesn't even know what I look like. Why would she feel any kind of attraction for a cat? Just how fucked up in the head is she?"_

()

Yukiko wasn't sure what was up with Grimmjow but he had been weird all day. He's been touchier and grumpier than usual. _"_ _Was he that uncomfortable about the kiss? That's ridiculous. He's in a cat's body so what is there to be nervous about? That the only reason I was able to do it at all anyways."_ She thought about the vision of his body again. He was… handsome… but transparent. There was no life to his form since it wasn't really there. It was only pleasant in that it gave her an image of his face to remember. After all he's a man, as he reminded her, and she didn't want to go on only being able to picture him as a black cat.

The final subway ride felt like it took too long. Travelling for long periods of time does that though and for someone who doesn't go more than a single subway or bus ride a day it feels like she had been traveling all day rather than just the afternoon. Yukiko walked sluggishly the rest of the way to her apartment, as excited as she was to be back in her own place she wasn't keen on sitting around alone. But slowly or quickly it doesn't matter, she made it back regardless and was alone in her little room. She opened her window then unpacked and stored her kimono in a closet that she kept a lot of her spare art supplies. She was also sure to take out the charm Grimmjow had pulled and put it on the table for him. While she herself wasn't sure what he was going to do with it in his current condition she just didn't want to forget about it in the bag.

She left the set of clothes that she had worn the previous day in the bag, not caring enough to just toss them in with her dirty laundry, and went to take a shower. Yukiko purposely took her time and went as slowly as she could withstand, scrubbing herself from her head to bottom of her toes and mentally singing a song while letting the water just spray over her. By the time she couldn't stand sitting in the bathroom she was rather hopeful that Grimmjow would be back so she got out and changed, having made sure she had clothes in the bathroom, just panties and a tank top and cotton shorts.

When she walked into the main room she did a quick glance to the table and futon but there was no black cat waiting. _"_ _Even though he got off to walk a stop early he shouldn't need this much time to make it back to the apartment. What could be taking him so long?"_ Yukiko was starting to become worried glancing at the window in concern.

She froze. The window was closed.

She turned to defend herself at the sound of footsteps but was met with a hot, sharp shock in the left side of her ribs. It sent painful spasms throughout her muscles and she saw rather than felt herself fall to the floor and could only stare at a pair of loafer shoes.

"Welcome home Yuki-chan."

Yukiko mentally trembled at the voice. _"_ _Shimata…"_

The government worker knelt down and leaned over her, unbuttoning the top of his white shirt as his tie fell lazily on the floor beside her hand. "Sorry for my appearance. As much as I wanted our reunion night to be something more personal but since you never told me what time you were coming back so I rushed over after work to make sure I didn't miss you."

The man was smiling lovingly at her and it terrified her. He reached out and tenderly ran his hand on her shoulder and down her arm.

 _"_ _Don't touch me."_ She thought weakly, her muscles no longer twitching but still somewhat numb.

The hand slipped from her arm and now rested on her hip, snaking its way to the hem of her shirt.

A rattling sound distracted the man and his hand stopped.

["DON'T TOUCH ME!"] She silently shouted. Reclaiming her lost strength she stretched her arm forward as far as she could until she felt something hard. Grasping hold of the hard thing she turned and swung it against his face. The object, the last painting she did, the butterfly in a glass box, the frame splintered apart and canvas tore as it hit him.

He cried out loudly and she tried to scurry to her feet and began pooling her Reiatsu beneath them, but her body was still clumsy from the attack that sent her to the ground.

"Yuki-chan!" Shimata said her name as if angrily scolding her and jabbed something blocky into her back, sending another pulse of hot pain through her body. This time she couldn't even tell if she had hit the ground yet, her vision was blotched with black.

She heard a continuous muffled sound but couldn't make heads or tails of what it was. Yukiko couldn't feel or really hear what was going on, but she understood what was going to happen. He was going to fuck her and all she could do was lay there.

Alone...

Helpless...

Hopeless…

()

Grimmjow couldn't keep putting off returning to the apartment. It was late, he was tired and he didn't want to end up somewhere he hadn't meant to go. Besides, just going back to the apartment doesn't mean he has to interact with Yukiko. He just has to share the space.

 _"_ _Just go into the room, curl up on the futon and go to sleep. If she tries to talk to you, ignore her. Simple as that."_ He went over his plan while turning the final corner and his destination came into view.

The Arrancar couldn't contain his irate growl at the sight of a closed window and dark room. _"_ _She locked me out and went to sleep?!"_ His thoughts held a sense of saying 'how dare she.' Grimmjow most certainly would never take such treatment quietly. If she thought she could just go to sleep like that and get away with it she had another thing coming.

He slightly ran to the window and jumped up looking straight down to where the futon is always placed but she wasn't there. Had she gone out? That was unlikely since she was someone who always seemed to value sleeping over anything else, aside from painting but if that was the case she would still be in there.

He looked across the floor at the rest of the room. There were two bodies on the floor. The perverted bastard Shimata was hovering over Yukiko, trailing his hand over her arm. Yukiko wasn't moving.

When he moved his hand from her arm and to the hem of Yukiko's shirt but she still didn't move Grimmjow's blood boiled. Something was wrong with her and the man was taking advantage of it. Grimmjow began pushing and banging the window, making it rattle. Shimata paused to look at him, when he did Yukiko grabbed her painting of the butterfly in a glass box and smashed it against the man's face. There was rage in her expression but behind it the Arrancar saw pure terror. She tried to stand but she didn't seem to have very good control over her legs and fumbled standing, giving her attacker a chance to thrust something bulky and black into her. Grimmjow saw a distinct crackle of electricity coming from the object and when it made contact with the woman she spasmed and fell to the floor again. She wasn't moving more than subtle twitches. Probably for insurance, the attacker took her striking hand and with a bit of effort twisted it in an unnatural direction.

Grimmjow was in a complete rage now, screaming the angriest feline screams possible for a creature of his current body and his tail thrashed back and forth so fast it could barely be seen. Unwilling to allow this assault on his human continue, the Arrancar began slamming his body against the glass of the window.

Shimata stopped what he was doing just long enough to look at the cat, giving Grimmjow a good view of the gash across his cheek and bleeding nose, the blood flowing off his face and into his shirt. But just those injuries weren't enough punishment for what he was doing. Grimmjow was determined to rip him apart. All he had to do was break through the goddamn glass!

He slammed as hard as he could but was doing nothing; the window sill was so small that he couldn't put enough force into it to hurt himself or the glass. He did the only thing he could think of; Grimmjow jumped to the ground and took a running start to jump and throw himself against the window. _"_ _Break damn it!"_

The impact hurt his shoulder and rattled the window but nothing more. He could see the human man lifting up Yukiko's shirt, exposing her bare chest. She still wasn't moving.

Grimmjow wasted no time in jumping down and attacking the glass again. The result didn't change, he only succeeded in furthering inflicting pain on his shoulder. Even so he wasted no time in jumping down to hit the window again.

There was a sharp noise at this impact. The glass was damaged but not broken. Taking one last look at the scene inside to further motivate himself, seeing the way the human roughly man-handled Yukiko's breast and force his mouth on hers, and it was all he needed to jump back down and run full speed back at the building before jumping and throwing himself into the crack on the glass. The window shattered and the sharp smell of copper filled Grimmjow's nose but he was seeing red.

The broken glass shocked Shimata and he raised himself off Yukiko. Grimmjow wasted no time in jumping directly into his face, screaming in rage. He latch one hand into the back of the man's head and used the other hand and both of his back feet to shred into his face and throat. The man was screaming in pain and started thrashing and attempted to rip the black cat off of his face. When the Arrancar felt his claws being pulled through the man's skin against his will he took a final well aimed swipe across his face, raking this blood-stained nails through thin skin of the eye lid and into the eyeball beneath.

When Grimmjow was no long able to reach the human's face he was thrown into the pile of painting against Yukiko's dresser. He launched himself at the man again but was swatted away by a piece of wood, a piece of the canvas that was broken against his own face earlier. Grimmjow lost his ability to breathe for a few moments and it gave his body enough time to register all of the pain it felt. He tried to stand but the pain in his shoulder screamed and it refused to allow him to get back up just yet. Even if he couldn't quite stand this moment he wasn't going to let Shimata think he was done fighting yet. He released a feral yowl and hiss at the human who was now stumbling and pressing a hand against his face, trying to contain the exceptional flow of blood that escaped from between his fingers.

There was a rattling noise across the room as someone frantically turned the door handle. "Ametsuchi-san! I'm coming in!" It was the building manager.

"SHIT!" Shimata cursed loudly and rushed for the window, stumbling slightly from his injuries and was surely in shock by now. He climbed through sideways and was caught on the glass shards of the broken window.

The door flew open and the larger, graying man rushed into the room just as the intruder's legs fell the rest of the way through and his body thudded to the ground with a grunt. Grimmjow could hear Shimata stand and run off. The manager, whose name Grimmjow was never bothered to learn, ran to the window and looked through it for a few seconds before turning his attention to the woman on the floor. Her eyes were still hazy but she was slowly pushing herself upright, adjusting her shirt as she did.

"Ametsuchi-san, are you hurt?" He said softly as he approached her too quickly for either her or Grimmjow's comfort. She put her arms up defensively and the cat pushed himself forward as best he could to get in between the two humans, hissing.

"Jun, what happened?!" An older woman appeared in the doorway, wrapped in a robe.

"Mami. We need to take Yukiko to the doctor down the street."

The woman rushed into the room and planted herself beside Yukiko. While the girl didn't flinch away from the woman Grimmjow wasn't happy about her getting close, he growled and tried to swipe at the woman but didn't have enough energy to balance himself well enough for that. He glared hatefully at the older woman until he felt something timidly touch his face. He looked over to Yukiko. She was looking at him like she wanted to cry and her hand moved to hover over his shoulder as his blood flowed out of it.

Grimmjow leaned into the touch, ignoring the pain it caused and instead focused on look on her face, no longer listening to the continued words between the two humans. She was focused on him and with her injured right hand held cradled against her chest; she pulled him up into her shoulder, holding him beneath his pelvis which was perhaps the only part of him that did not hurt. She leaned her face against his head and Grimmjow was certain he felt something warm and wet fall onto his ear. Normally, the Arrancar hated the crying of anything, especially women, but he'll make an exception this time, and let Yukiko cry on him. _"_ _Just this once."_

He wasn't quite paying attention to what was happening around him, only becoming aware that they were going somewhere when he felt Yukiko rise and shuffle slowly out of the apartment and into the cool air of the street. They left the building with the couple and were led through the neighborhoods until the group reached a building with a large sign that wasn't lit above the door.

The man, Jun, pressed a button connected to a gray speaker and it buzzed. After a minute a voice called back lazily from the other end. "Yes, can I help you?"

"Kurosaki-san. It's Matoi Jun. We have an emergency. Would you mind letting us in?"

The sound of the name made Grimmjow's ears perk up. The voice from the machine didn't sound like Ichigo though.

"Alright. I'll be right down." The man's voice sounded significantly more serious now and he appeared in the door within the minute. It was a tall man with black hair and a stubbly beard. He took one look at Yukiko and Grimmjow in her arms and ushered them in immediately, asking if she needed any help getting in. He must have been confusing the blood on her clothes as her own. She was actually the only one in the attack that wasn't bleeding though her wrist was now a disturbing shade of blackish-purple.

The adult Kurosaki lead them to a well-lit room where he urged Yukiko to sit on a long narrow bed. She complied but when he asked for her hand she instead held out Grimmjow. All eyes in the room stared at her.

Grimmjow watched as she did something he had never seen her willingly do in front of other people. She spoke in her silent words. {"Help him first."}

They didn't understand her though.

She grimaced through her own pain and repeated herself. {"Help him first.}

This time Kurosaki seemed to understand. "I would but you are my priority, not him."

Grimmjow pushed himself from Yukiko's weak grip and nudged her. She was human, he was not. She'd definitely needed to be taken care of first. He could handle the pain much better.

When the doctor took her wrist into his hand she flinched and Grimmjow was certain it wasn't just from the pain. While it was always more subtle, Yukiko had been flinching away from men for the entirety of his knowing her. _"_ _This isn't the first time something like this happened to her."_ He understood with a dark clarity.

Footsteps came rushing through the building. "Dad, what's happening? I think I sense Gri-" It was Kurosaki. _His_ Kurosaki and he was staring at the guest in what was apparently his father's clinic.

"Ichigo, now's not the time." His father said, though never taking his eyes off the wrist he was examining.

"Oh Dad. Would you like some help?" A young girl with light brown hair offered, her voice sound like background noise. Her father answered yes while his son continued on talking.

The young man seemed to be at a loss as to what to do. He must have been uncertain about how to approach the situation with regular humans present. "S-sorry. It's just…"

The orange-haired woman appeared behind him and exclaimed shamelessly. "Is it just me or does that cat feel like Grimmjow?!"

Yukiko took her eyes off the man touching her and instead looked at the pair. She solemnly nodded yes, and with her good hand pushed the Arrancar towards them. _"_ _What's the big idea?"_ He wondered silently as he looked at her.

She smiled softly at him. {"Go get your body back."}

Orihime rushed over to Grimmjow and he watched as the realization that he was injured came over her face as it moved from uncertain but curious to worried and confused. "Miss…" She said comfortingly to Yukiko. "We are actually friends of this cat. If you let us, we'll take him to get fixed up."

Yukiko nodded yes but Grimmjow wasn't quite so ready to get swept into their plans, even if it was to his benefit. He threw himself across his human's lap and glared at all of the humans. Since she wasn't prepared to protect herself from the advances of men he wasn't going to leave her alone with one.

"Grimmjow…" Orihime said sadly.

Then without warning Yukiko lifted him up and handed him to Orihime who took him in her arms tightly without missing a beat, as if these two women were planning this somehow. The woman now carrying the Arrancar against his will rushed out of the building, across the street and around four blocks and they were followed closely behind by Kurosaki. "Hey, Orihime! How far are we going to go?" He asked loudly, attempting to speak over the sound of a car with an obnoxious siren and lights that was passing them.

"Just a little further." She answered.

After a few more minutes of running she put him down and he glared up at her and Kurosaki as they knelt above him. "Shuno, Ayame." She summoned her little spirits and they created their barrier over him without the need for any further commands.

Grimmjow recognized the power as her healing ability so he waited as he felt the pain alleviate. When the orange light faded he shifted himself to test his shoulder, it felt good as new. He launched himself at the male's face with a shrill cat scream, he hated it but he was getting more comfortable with his animal noises.

Ichigo stumbled backwards with a panicked noise. "Rah!"

"Ichigo-kun!" The woman cried loudly and pulled the cat off of him.

"What the hell Grimmjow?!" He virtually screamed, his face red in anger and lined with thin scratches that almost made him look like he had whiskers.

Grimmjow thrashed his arms and legs and growled angrily in Orihime's hands. Kurosaki gripped the cat by his scruff, getting a wrist full of teeth and claws in the process and prepared to launch him across the street. "Bastard!"

"Wait! Ichigo-kun, we still don't know what happened to Grimmjow. He's probably just angry and uncomfortable because of his condition." The woman rushed out her words, trying to reason with her companion before it was too late.

"He's always angry." The man argued back.

She just moved in front of him and gave him a sad and concerned face. "But he's obviously concerned about the lady that came to the clinic with him. We should take him to Urahara-san and see if there's anything he can do to fix him."

At the mention of Urahara Grimmjow nodded furiously. He was long overdue to get his body back.

Ichigo sighed in defeat. "Fine…"

()

Yukiko had handed her protector over to a stranger and was now alone in a room with the male doctor, his daughter, and her building manager and his wife. She pulled herself into a ball as tightly as she could now that she was without him, the wrist being examined was the only body part that was extended out. The lack of Grimmjow made her feel even more exposed and helpless but he needed to be taken care of. The doctor was currently injecting something yellow into the purple area of her wrist over and over in small amounts. After the sixth one he started tapping her wrist with his fingers. "Can you feel that?"

She couldn't and shook her head no.

Dr. Kurosaki began pushing and twisting her hand and arm, putting them back at their proper angles, then he slipped on a brace that his daughter had pulled out from somewhere. "You're wrist was sprained pretty badly. I'll put together a prescription of pain medication and a list of instructions for you."

She didn't meet his eyes when he spoke to her but she listened. The girl, whom Yukiko has a vague feeling of having seen before, smiled reassuringly and offered a glass of water. She took it and sipped from the cup, taking in the room around her for the first time, looking for the best exit should she feel the need for a quick getaway. She saw the flashes of red lights before anyone else.

"Why is a police car outside?" The girl asked, pulling the attention of all the adults in the room.

Two officers were standing at the door by the time the doctor went to speak to them. They nodded to him a thank you and entered the room. Yukiko felt her fear spike. She was now in a room with four males. _"_ _You're not alone. It's safe, you're not alone."_ She tried to mental reassure herself.

"Ametsuchi Yukiko?" The older one asked. He looked a bit older than Mr. Matoi, the building manager, but a high stress job like an officer could easily age a person.

She nodded yes.

"I'm officer Yama. This is Officer Hatsu."

"You're finally here. I called nearly thirty minutes ago." The female Matoi exclaimed.

"Our apologies. There seemed to be some misunderstanding with the dispatcher." The Hatsu, who was much younger and probably fresh out of the police academy, replied.

The stern look that Yama was giving Yukiko made her nervous. "Ms. Ametsuchi, we're here to take you into custody." He approached her and reached for her good arm. She jumped sideways, further towards the wall.

"What? Why are you arresting her? She's the victim in this!" Mami said loudly.

"Not according to a report that was put in earlier. Before your call we received a similar call from her government overseer, a Shimata Yu, claiming to have been attacked while checking in with Ms. Ametsuchi after she left the city without proper permission or procedure." The older man explained.

"Just look at her. How can you say she was the attacker." Mami attempted to defend.

"We've also seen the condition of Shimata. He is currently being hospitalized and undergoing treatment for severe blood loss and is expected to lose all function of his right eye." The younger officer finally spoke up again.

"That's beca-" Mr. Matoi was cut off by the older man.

"We did not come here to negotiate. Ametsuchi Yukiko, you are under arrest." The cynical officer announced and roughly took hold of her injured arm, if it wasn't still numbed she probably wouldn't have been able to react due to the pain.

But, unfortunately she could react. Yukiko reached onto the counter beside the bed, took hold of shear-scissors that looked like they were laying out to dry on a towel and stabbed them into the officer's shoulder. "Ugh!"

She pull the weapon out and scurried back into the bed, pointing it at the man as he and the other officer started yelling orders. Everyone else in the room seemed to be yelling too but, frankly, Yukiko's mind couldn't register any the words anybody was saying. All she heard was the sound of her own thoughts. _"_ _Surrounded. Alone. Surrounded. Alone."_ She was terrified.

"Please stop." A single calm voice said through all the panic in the room.

"Yuzu!" Dr. Kurosaki's panic became real now.

His daughter, Yuzu, was approaching Yukiko calmly. "You'll be okay. If you just go nicely then I'm sure everything will work out perfectly. The truth of what happened will become known."

The memory of meeting this girl back in the grocery store reappeared. It was back when Grimmjow first started living with her. She was very polite and kind.

"No one will hurt you. Just do what they need you to and everything will be okay." She continued to try and calm her down.

Yukiko understood what was being said. She didn't intend to fight back. She knew what was at the end of this incident. But isn't she allowed to be terrified?

Shaking, she lowered the scissors and tossed them to the other side of the bed. The two officers went in front of her, each taking an arm, placing handcuff on her and escorted her out of the clinic and into their patrol car. She sat alone in it for a few minutes while the doctor did some first aid treatment on the officer she injured and Yuzu went over the instructions for Yukiko's medical care with the younger one.

She watched out the window while they drove her to the police station and felt her heart squeeze painfully when she saw a pair of orange heads slightly running down a sidewalk with a black cat trailing just behind them. Tears welled in her eyes. _"_ _Grimmjow. Good luck. …Bye."_

()

Grimmjow followed the pair of humans and they led him through a series of sidewalks, streets and alleys until finally he reached the place he had been searching for these past few months. Urahara's Shop.

"I wonder if anyone's even awake." Orihime wondered aloud.

"I don't think he cares." Kurosaki said, noting Grimmjow as he sprinted direction to the sliding door and threw it open.

A teenager came rushing into the room wearing pajama pants and holding a metal bat like object that was nearly as large as him. "Who is it?!"

Grimmjow was in no mood for this brat. He jump and was going to go straight for the kid's face, which seemed to be very effective more often than not. He was suspended in the air though with the feeling of a hand holding the skin at the back of his neck.

"Hey, Jinta. Is Urahara here?"

The kid relaxed. "Oh, Ichigo. Yeah, he is. Come on back."

Once again, Grimmjow was being carried around like a ragdoll and it was royally pissing him off. Kurosaki took him to a back living area and the pair sat down while the red headed teenager disappeared into another room. The entire time they sat there a low growl rumbled through the Arrancar's throat and Kurosaki and Orihime conversed uninterestingly.

His ear twitched at the sound of footsteps approaching. Slowly, lazily, a blond man in a blue shirt and pants that look no different from what he typically wears entered. He released a large yawn before he could even be bothered to start speaking. "How can I help you tonight?"

"Were you seriously asleep? It's only ten." Kurosaki questioned.

"Actually it's after eleven and yes, we all were." When he answered he seemed to open his eyes for the first time and saw the black cat in the young Shinigami's hand.

Grimmjow saw his expression flash in immediate understanding then shift to his ridiculously cheeky and childish side. "Oh! So that's were that went. Is that Grimmjow I sense in there?" He got up close but stayed out of reach and said in a baby voice. "How are you Grimmjow?"

His ears were flat back and all the fur on his body was entirely puffed out like he had been electrocuted; the Arrancar spat out a viscous yowl.

"Urahara, if you keep teasing him I might just let go."

 _"_ _DO IT!"_ Grimmjow mentally voted.

"Now, now there's no need for that." He said, smile never faltering.

"Kisuke? What's going on?" The dark skinned woman appeared from one of the other room now, wearing a plain gray yukata, probably for sleeping.

She took one look at the situation then crossed her arms and looked down at her friend. "Someone finally found Grimmjow, huh?"

 _"_ _SO HE DID FUCKING KNOW ABOUT THIS!"_ He shrieked in his head, releasing an angry hiss at the same time.

When he hissed the blond man shot something small and round down his throat and a strange but relieving sense expansion overcame him. He felt his feet touch the floor and for the first time in what felt like a lifetime he naturally stood on two feet.

"Ugh…" He released a sound of momentary surprise and looked down at his hands. Real hands with fingers and no fur. He opened and closed them before looking partially up his arms and checking his face and head. Just his shaggy hair, strong jaw line, nose, mask fragment, ear on the side of his head and not the top. He was exactly what he was supposed to be.

There was a quiet mew from behind him and he turned to see Ichigo hold a black cat that calmly looked around it.

"It's a prototype gigai that I was designing for the Stealth Corp. It contains the users Reiatsu so well that they can't be tracked through it and there are many benefits to a cat body, according to Yoruichi. While I'll admit I hadn't intended to have anyone take it for a test run I can't say I'm unhappy with how everything turned out."

Grimmjow stopped listening. He punched straight at the man. Knowing he wasn't close enough to make contact from where he was he fired an intensely bright blue Cero at the full extension of his fist. Urahara and Yoruichi moved clear out of the way and a large hole that burned clear through the front of the store, the cement wall behind it, and into the building across the street. Grimmjow didn't want to waste much energy in an angry display. He wasted no time rocketing himself through the holes and made his way back to the clinic as quickly as he could with Sonido, leaving sonic booms in his wake. _"_ _I'll be right there, Yukiko."_

* * *

 **I've got to admit. This is a chapter I had been planning since before I started posting this story. I'm sorry I'm evil to my characters but I love dark elements. Besides some of you guy had already more or less figured out that Shimata was a rapest. See you guys next chapter! :)**

 **Yay Comments! (´** **｡** **•** **ω** **•** **｡** **`) :**

 **Silent Songstress Sorceress: Nope. She was the first thing he thought of when he got his body back :)**

 **Mrs. Swordslover: Yeah… the reason their festival trip had such a last time they're be together feeling was because it was the build up to this and Yukiko knew something was going to happen so she was extra melancholy about it. Not kidnapped, arrested. Life sucks for my characters. I'm sorry for the prolonged wait (personal issues and just plain busy). Real body goal achieved though! :)**

 **germancutie88: Yep, her bad omen was about her. Them bonding was why I kept putting off giving Grimmjow his real body. I felt like he wouldn't stick around long enough to form a strong personal relationship with her otherwise. I'm so happy the last chapter was your favorite, it's mine too.**

 **Saya Tsukihime: The cutesy stuff is fun to write so I'm happy you liked it. I can't do it much though, it'd be too out of character for Grimmjow :(**

 **Emzy2k11: I'm sorry for the delayed update, I hope you enjoyed reading it all the same (even if it is a bit darker).**

 **Rileyyheartt: Thank you first of all. Yukiko doesn't remember the dream. She had already started to forget his face before she left her room to clean her bedding. Sorry it's not very soon but I hope you like the update.**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm sorry.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

Grimmjow returned to the Kurosaki clinic in record time and landed on the concrete in front of the glass door. The lights were on and there was movement inside so he barged straight into the clinic. The father Kurosaki looked directly at him while his daughter looked at the door but then started glancing around, seemingly uncertain on where she should look. Grimmjow went directly to the smaller area in the back of the clinic where the bed that Yukiko was on was located. She wasn't there.

The Arrancar trudged straight to the doctor. "You can see me just fine right? Where'd Yukiko go?"

"Yuzu-chan, I'll finish cleaning. You should be getting to bed." Isshin said though he looked at Grimmjow, acknowledging that he was spoken to.

"Oh. Sure, thanks Dad!" She said weirdly cheerful for so late at night.

Ichigo rushed into the clinic now in his Shinigami form. "Dad, everything okay? Grimmjow! What do you think you're doing?"

"Ya gonna answer me or not?" Grimmjow was not a patient creator.

The scruffy man sighed and scratched his head. "Some cops came to take her. I assume she's at a police station now."

"What for?" He was at a loss when it came to human government. Nothing about made sense to him. If a Hollow overstepped themselves they would simply be killed or severely injured then left to die, even when they worked under Aizen. The concept of having a bunch of rules to follow with various intensities of punishments seemed unnecessarily complicated in his opinion.

"Why do I get the feeling that when I tell you, you're going to lose your temper?" He huffed out quietly before continuing. "She stabbed one of the officers in the shoulder for starters. She was also accused of attacking some guy who works for the government and that her injuries were from him protecting himself."

Grimmjow started trembling with a dark glare as a strange feeling formed inside of him. It felt like anger but not quiet the same. "That bastard… If he thought I was a problem as a cat he going to be in for a real slaughter."

"Grimmjow! He's just a human. Let humans deal with human problems, okay. If you go around attacking regular people the Soul Society will definitely make killing you a priority!"

Blue eyes glowed like fire as he snarled and showed the younger Kurosaki the masked half of his face, the Hollow half of his face. "Let them try. I'll ripe them apart too."

Feeling that they had nothing more to offer him in information, Grimmjow used Sonido again and went straight through the glass, his Hierro protecting him from the sharp fragments as he broke through now that he was in his real form again. If the two men he left behind had anything to say about his abrupt exit he was too far out of ear shot to hear.

 _"_ _Now, what does a 'police station' look like?"_ He moved a bit slower this time so that he could glance around at the buildings he passed but he didn't quite know what he was looking for. He opened his Pesquisa to look for Rieryoku. Even if he wasn't familiar with Yukiko's, finding all the people who have an amount beyond needed to live would be a somewhat decent start.

Kurosaki was close behind him.

He stopped and allowed the Shinigami to catch up. When Kurosaki did he was yelling and red faced. "What the hell Grimmjow?! You can't be bothered to use the freakin door?!"

He ignored the angry question in preference of his own. "What does a police station look like?"

"Don't blow off the issue here!" He practically yelled in his ear.

Without a flinch of warning Grimmjow kicked him in the abdomen, not hard, just enough to send him off a dozen or so meters and out of his ear. "If you're not going to help me than leave me the fuck alone." He called out and resumed his search. There was a Rieryoku source that he did not recognized just a minute away.

Ichigo rushed back to him and followed along. "There's no way I can leave you to run around alone. Why the heck do you even want to find that woman so bad?"

That was a question Grimmjow had not considered. He also knew it was a question he could not just ignore and it'll go away. Can't he just want to find her, no reason attached? _"_ _No, that would be idiotic."_ He said the first thing he could think of that wasn't a ridiculous joke. "I owe her a lot. I don't like owing anyone anything."

It wasn't a lie that he decided that he would watch out for her because of that reason even if he hadn't thought about it as owing the woman anything in a long time. Bringing it up though seemed to bother the weird feeling that formed back at the clinic.

"Owing her, huh?" The Shinigami didn't seem to believe it anyways.

"Where's this 'police station' anyways?" He ignored the suspicion and reminded him of his dilemma.

Ichigo continued to give him a questioning stare. "What's going to happen when I take you there?"

"Fuck if I know. I'm not going to attack her though so what's the issue."

"Fine. The one closest to us is probably where she was taken. It's this way." He finally agreed to cooperate. With Kurosaki taking the lead they moved with a sense of direction, going away from the person that Grimmjow was headed to and instead towards the east. The Shinigami was moving too slow for him but the Arrancar contained his irritation as best he could. Yukiko was probably still scared about what happened and approaching her with a form that she had never seen with a hostile attitude would not be making things any easier. _"_ _Maybe once we get to the building I can knock Kurosaki into the ground a few times. That'll relax me well enough."_

"Grimmjow, it's that one." The boy said, pointing to a blocky building that didn't look any different than the others except for the excess space it had between it and the surrounding buildings and some bars on a few windows. He opened his Pesquia and felt a single person with a slightly abnormal amount of Reiryuko. _"_ _There she is."_

Grimmjow held out his fist and started charging a Bala rather than a Cero, not wanting to damage the building too much since she was still inside. Kurosaki gripped his wrist. "What are you doing?!"

The Arrancar looked at him, utterly serious. "I need to get in."

"Learn to use a door!"

"Are you going to bitch at me all night or can I go get my human?" He snapped back.

The orange haired boy got a smug smile on his face. " _Your_ human, huh?"

Grimmjow mentally stuttered on his own words, aware that his face was probably turning a slight shade of red. Not thrilled with the idea of this guy seeing it he released his Reiatsu platform and let himself fall to the ground. "Where's the fucking door then?"

Kurosaki followed but continued with his taunts. "Maybe I should tell Urahara that his new gigai's make the wearer go soft."

Grimmjow used Sonido to give his punch to the boys face that little extra momentum but he missed as the Shinigami used his slightly faster Flash Step to get out of the way, leaving the force from the strike to explode though the air and throwing any object not either nailed down or a car to be thrown various meters away from their original position. Too pissed to allow him to get away that easily he followed him and jabbed his knee up into his chest. Kurosaki blocked it but it still threw him up into the air a mile or two before he could stop himself. Wanting to drive his point of 'leave me alone' into the boy's head he followed him all the way up and punched him back down into the concrete below. Perhaps the boy was getting rusty not having an enemy to fight that was stronger than a run-of-the-mill Hollow these past few months. He wasn't able to block or avoid this punch in the least and impacted into the stony ground with the full force that was intended. He stood back up though and the two fighters shot themselves at each other at full speed. The Shinigami had his oversized sword raised to cleave him but Grimmjow was not only far faster than he was in their last fight and he knew the way the boy battled so he thrusted his palm into the underside of the Kurosaki's elbow, throwing his whole arm back and the force made him reflexively open his palm and drop his sword, leaving his ribcage entirely open on that side. Not wanting to waste such a useful moment, the Hollow kicked him directly into the center of his ribs on his left. Ichigo was once again pushed back into something made of concrete, human towns were most certainly full of concrete. This one was a building.

The commotion of their fight drew out a crowd of people, mostly men, all of who were dressed in either a dark blue uniform or suits. Some were gathered inspecting the small crater in front of the building and while others pointed at the building. There was something upsetting down there though. The source of the Reiryuko was outside and it wasn't Yukiko.

He launched himself down to the man, a young officer, took hold of him and used Sonido to take him high in the air and out of sight of the other humans. The man was screaming in a panic and staring at Grimmjow like he was a monster. _"_ _Good."_

"Pay attention or I'll throw you." He threatened.

The man stopped screaming, though he looked like he was forcing it and still whimpered slightly.

"A human girl was arrested about an hour or so ago. Ametsuchi Yukiko."

The officer went a shade paler and swallowed hard. He knew exactly who that was.

"Where is she?"

The man was trembling and whimpering pathetically.

Grimmjow dropped him. He screamed as he fell a few meters before the Arrancar sent himself below the officer and caught him again. The man was still screaming so Grimmjow yelled above him. "Where is she?"

"I don't know! While we were processing her arrest she was taken to a hospital!" The words came out quickly and were hardly coherent.

"Why would she be taken to a hospital? Her arm was already fixed."

The officer's words were still rushed and panicked. "Not that kind of hospital! She was registered as psychologically unfit for independent living and that's why she had someone assigned to monitor her! In cases like this we are required to release the suspect to a designated institution."

Once again Grimmjow was barraged with concepts that held no meaning to a Hollow like him. What he could take away from it was that people thought Yukiko was crazy and the attack on her made her dangerously crazy so she needed to be treated. He did say hospital, right? "Where is this hospital?"

"I don't know! Somewhere in Shikoku Region!"

"Where the fuck is that? How do I find the hospital when I get there?"

The officer seemed to be calming down, he probably felt that once he answers all of the Hollow's questions he'll be safe. "It's southwest of here. I don't know the hospital's name though and I don't have access to the file."

Grimmjow growled slightly, the weird feeling grew a bit. "Tch. You're useless then."

He released the man, this time with no intention of catching him again. Instead he thought about what he now knew of the situation. _"_ _How do I find her now? He said southwest but southwest was where Kameoka was and that was in Kinki. It's past there then? Then there's no way she made it to the hospital yet. But how do I find her before she gets there? Buses, subways, trains… Human's have too many transportations for me to check everything headed south. Hm…"_

He used Sonido again and caught the falling man. "How long is she supposed to stay in the hospital?"

 _"_ _If it's a few days I'd probably be better off letting them get her there so I can just track her down while she isn't going anywhere."_ He considered begrudgingly.

Naturally the officer's answer offered no insight. "They didn't say."

Grimmjow groaned slightly at how useless this man is. A dark thought came over him _"_ _Or maybe he won't be…"_

"How did you know who Yukiko is? There are a lot of you. Do you know every arrest made?"

He stuttered and seemed to unwilling to answer. The Hollow let his grip slip just enough for the dangling man to feel himself fall a little.

"I WAS ONE OF THE OFFICERS WHO ARRESTED HER!" He finally admitted, certain he was going to be killed now.

But he wasn't. Grimmjow instead pulled him close to his face. "Where is Shimata?" He said quietly with an ice in his tone that almost made him shiver himself.

The officer was perfectly white now. "How do you know his name?"

Grimmjow smiled sadistically. "I was the little cat who fucked him up. Now that I'm back someone needs to die tonight for what happened."

It took a while, but the officer finally seemed to find his spine. "I will not help you take an innocent life."

"Ain't nothing innocent about that rapist bastard." He snarled.

The man got a shocked look on his face but said nothing. After giving him a moment to give him the information he wanted only to receive nothing, Grimmjow let him go a final time. He could hear the man screaming as he fell to his death but didn't stick around to watch the impact. He would get his satisfaction in the pain and death of a different man tonight.

 _"_ _He was bleeding pretty good by the time he escaped from the apartment. He had to have gone to the hospital closest to us then."_ He reasoned as he planned his next move. Lucky for him too, hospitals were pretty obvious. Tall buildings that were also wide and had a big red cross on them were always easy to find. After a few minutes of running around through the air, glancing at all the tall, fat buildings he found one that had the glowing symbol he was looking for.

He was faced with a new challenge now though. Finding a specific man in this giant building. _"_ _Human's seem to love systems and regulations… There's probably a record of him somewhere with his location."_

Grimmjow actually made an effort to use the front door this time since blasting a hole in the building would definitely cause a panic and make finding his target even more difficult. When he walked through the woman at the front desk looked at the opening door but couldn't see the Hollow passing through it. She got up from her chair and approached the entrance curious while Grimmjow walked around her and went to her previous spot. He started rummaging through the papers looking for the human's name or even a mention of someone with a damaged face, remembering very clearly the satisfying feeling of tearing through his eye.

The papers didn't have anything of interest for him and he looked over at the glowing screen in the center of the desk. He wasn't even sure what it was. It looked like a TV but wasn't playing any shows. It seemed like something that he saw the one time he was curious enough to look into Szayelaporro's room back in his Espada days, which told Grimmjow that it wasn't something he should mess with.

The receptionist returned to her chair with a man following behind her and the Hollow moved on from the desk area and stopped at the hall to read the signs directing to certain areas in the building. He wasn't certain how he should find Shimata but he knew if he just wandered around it would take all night to search the building. _"_ _Well, it's not like I have any other ideas."_

Luckily before he could get started he heard the name he was looking for from behind him. "Excuse me. What room is Shimata Yu residing in. I'm here to take his statement." It was an old-ish looking man in a police uniform with some blood stains at a tear in his shirt at the shoulder.

"Must be the guy Yukiko stabbed." Grimmjow thought out loud.

The woman spoke. "Of course." She clicked away at a pad attached to the weird screen before continuing. "He's in room 7257. Would you like a nurse to escort you?"

The Arrancar didn't stick around to hear the mundane conversation that was sure to follow, full of human pleasantries that could easily make him sick. Going off the instruction from the sign he was previously reading that room would be up higher in the building so what he needed was stairs. Conveniently enough, hospitals are littered with directional signs and he followed them to a square stairwell where he simply jumped up through the center, between the actual flights, preferring to climb in that manner. On his second jump he found the seventh floor and entered into its hallway. People in a variety of plain looking clothes and white jackets glanced up to look at the opening door but no one looked at him, none of them saw him. There were plenty of plus souls in the hallway that did though and they reacted in fear, just as they should to a Hollow. _"_ _Okay… 7257… Where is that?"_

There were fewer signs that pointed to numbers up here so he was left to do a thorough search from here. He didn't want to risk missing the room so he didn't use his Sonido but he wasn't a patient man so he did insist on running a bit through the halls, dodging and skirting and the people for the most part. There were a few he may or may not have run through and knocked to the floor, he wasn't paying those humans enough attention to be sure.

When he saw the room numbers descending down, closer to the one he wanted his blood began to burn with a sadistic excitement. He couldn't wait to find the man who dared to attack his human. He was starting to smile a bit, but not very wide just yet.

He found room 7257.

The Arrancar broke the door down with his foot, feeling a comfortable sense of calm excitement in the pleasant familiarity of what was about to come. Everyone in the hallway yelped and looked towards the door in a panic but all Grimmjow saw was his victim.

Shimata Yu was sitting in a white bed with plastic railings and an incline for the upper half of his body. He looked towards his door in terror with his one visible eye, the other was completely bandaged over, assuming it was still there at all. "Who's there?!"

Grimmjow didn't answer, why bother he can't be heard after all. Yet that is.

Human are terribly fragile things… Just hitting them hard enough will be enough to kill them. _"_ _Like this."_

The Hollow punched the man in the bed with about a quarter of his full strength. He felt his jaw and cheek bones shatter beneath his knuckles as well as some teeth and his open eye get ejected from his face from the force of the impact. Shimata's head was turned an unnatural degree and blood slowly started to drip from the body's nose and mouth but Grimmjow was no longer looking at the body, instead he was staring at the perfectly unharmed plus soul that was thrown to the wall from the punch as well. It saw its body. "What happened?! Why am I over there? My face! You! What did you do to me?!" He was obnoxiously loud.

"I killed you. That way you get to see the face of the man who's going to rip you apart." He said with an easy smile on his face.

"Wh-who are you?" The soul stammered out.

Grimmjow chuckled slightly, reveling in the fear of the man. "You don't recognize me? I figured you wouldn't, so let me give you a hint!"

Taking a quick step towards Shimata, Grimmjow morphed his right hand into his claws and slashed through the soul's face and destroyed his left eye with the swipe. The soul screamed in pain.

Grimmjow allowed him to scream and cry for the doctors and nurses who were swarming around his empty body to help him but they never responded to him. After giving him the time to whither like a bitch the Arrancar lifted the man up by the neck, not choking him just showing him with no uncertainty that he could and will kill him at his leisure. "Most humans can't see the dead, dumbass." He taunted.

He was crying out of his other eye now. "Please! Cat- No, Grimmshaw, right? Please don't kill me! I'll be a better man! Please!"

"I don't give a shit about character. You touched my human." Grimmjow looked at the man's hand, the one he used to injure hers as well as grope her chest.

He smiled as psychotically as ever. "First things first."

He took the human's offending hand in his own by the wrist and in a single, easy movement twisted and tore the entire arm off from the elbow. He enjoyed the beautiful sight of skin, muscles, tendons and blood vessels being exposed and ripped one after another but also all at once.

Shimata screamed in ear-splitting agony, tears flooded down his face. He was obviously no longer capable of words so Grimmjow just listened to the music of torment and it encouraged he next decision. He released his hold on the soul and before gravity had a chance to drop it down even a millimeter he drove his fist directly into its chest, the force pushing him into the wall until it crumbled behind him.

When all of the power flowed out of his fist he swiftly shot out his other fist, pushing them out into the open air above the street. This time he threw his fist up into the man's chin and sending him straight up. The Arrancar used his Sonido to move past him and slammed him back down against the momentum. He continued on like this, dancing around the soul as he punched him in whatever direction he felt, his face twisting into a more demented smile with every strike. The feeling of the soul's flesh ripping beneath his fists was the most enjoyable sensations he's experienced in a long time. It easily beats out the feeling of Yukiko's breast against his face. Maybe even her lips on his muzzle. _"_ _Yeah… This is better than the kiss."_ He thought after some internal debating.

Shimata was no longer screaming or crying in pain so Grimmjow caught him rather than hitting him again. He held the blood-caked human soul before him. He still seemed alive, for a soul, but was no longer conscious. Grimmjow wasn't going to wait for him to wake up.

He held his free hand up and it glowed with an orb of Reiatsu as he charged up a Cero. He was going to blow this fucker's head to ashes. Just as he released it a hand appeared and pushed his straight up, causing the blast to fire off into the air then dissipate.

Grimmjow looked beside him to glare savagely at the Shinigami who was glaring at him just as fiercely.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing Kurosaki?" He said darkly.

"Me? I knew that you're reckless about bystanders but nearly destroying a hospital goes beyond that!" Ichigo yelled back.

The Arrancar didn't notice that he was facing the center of the hospital but he also didn't care. Those humans didn't mean shit to him.

He looked back at the interloper and smiled. "Fine."

Grimmjow threw Shimata down to the ground and before the little hero could rush down to save him the Arrancar shot a Bala that exploded when it touched the soul. It didn't incinerate him like he would have preferred but it did blast his chest and face open. Assuming the orange haired woman wasn't anywhere close, this human soul was beyond saving, and he felt the strange anger quell in his chest.

The Hollow turned to the man, who was staring in shock, with a smile that showed just how perfectly twisted he really was. "It's finally your turn… Kurosaki!"

He morphed his hand into claws again and thrusted it in a stabbing motion to Ichigo's heart. The Shinigami was quick to block with his massive Zanpakto but was still pushed back nonetheless. Grimmjow rushed him and rained down a barrage of punches to the boy only to grow frustrated when none of them made contact with flesh so he changed it up, launching a left hook for his jaw that was easily blocked to expose Kurosaki's abdomen and rammed a knee up into is stomach. Ichigo gasped out all the air in his body as he flew back. He was quick to regain his composure though and launched an attack of his own. "Getsuga Tensho!"

It was intercepted with the firing of a Cero.

The panther was starting to feel giddy, he had wanted this fight for a long time.

He drew out his sword and held it before him. "COME ON KUROSAKI! LET'S NOT PLAY AROUND!"

He could see the look of surprise in Ichigo's face but didn't care. He was far out of control already. _He needed to run wild._

Grimmjow's muscles tightened in anticipation as he scrapped his nails down the length of his sword. "GRIND, PANTERA!"

The wave of power that flowed through his body was impossible to contain and he roared in a mixture of pleasure and pride at the feeling that came with the release of his Resurreccion. Another grumbled in his throat as he crouched slightly in his now felinesque body, coiling his leg muscles in restraint as he waited.

Kurosaki realized that this wasn't a fight that was going to build up until they were ready to perform at their best in a bid for survival. Grimmjow was going to go all not now and if he didn't he'll die. The Shinigami held his sword straight, the bandage wrapped around his arm. "Bankai!"

The form was different from the last time Grimmjow had seen it. Now the Tensa Zangetsu blade had three raised points on the back of the blade and Kurosaki's cloak had Xs running up the front of it.

The Arrancar looked at it in confusion for less than half a second before deciding it was irrelevant and released his muscles, surging forward with his impressive speed. He hooked his arm up and caught the sword in the blades growing out of his forearm. Just as the Shinigami stabilized his stance against the force Grimmjow retreated his arm and spun, slashing with a blade on his calf. He saw a bit of panic flash in Kurosaki's eyes as he readjusted his positioning with a flash step to block again. It was clear his attack wasn't going to make contact so Grimmjow formed a Reiatsu platform beneath his feet, allowing him to change the direction of his momentum and spin, whipping his tail across Kurosaki's face, pushing him down slightly. Grimmjow took a few fractions of a second to evaluate their new positions then rushed in to attack with a blood thirst that he hadn't felt in what seemed like a long time. _He needed to run wild. He needed to kill._

Kurosaki knew he was going to strike immediately though so he rushed forward as well and slashed at the Hollow with his sword leaking the black and red power that its wielder had poured into it. Grimmjow easily slipped past the weapon with his smaller, more nimble feet. As he flew up and over Kurosaki he released a full set of Garra de la Panter into his back at the same time as the Shinigami throwing the Reiatsu around himself to strike his opponent. The force of the attacks separated them by a great distance.

Ichigo was slow to get back to his feet while Grimmjow ignored any alerts of pain as well as the way blood poured out of the wound that was nearly exposing his internal organs. He pushed himself to his hand and feet then used Sonido with the strength of all four extremities. He appeared directly in front of his opponent and with Reiatsu glowing claws began mindlessly striking with punches and slashes unfazed as to whether they landed or were blocked. _He needed to run wild. He needed to kill. He needed to show the world that he was still strong, that he was still a King._

The blade in Grimmjow's left arm was caught by the black Zanpakuto and with a roar of power Ichigo released an explosion of energy and sliced through his arm leaving the Arrancar stunned still. The Shinigami took a half step back as he charged his attack then slashed, releasing all of his built up power. "Getsuga Tensho!"

…

Grimmjow woke up on a futon in an unfamiliar room but the residual traces of his Reiatsu told him he had recently used his power here, probably meaning it was Urahara's shop. He sat up expecting to feel an intense pain from his wounds but there was no such feeling, only the dull yet engulfing and weird sensation that he had been trying to get rid of. Resting his returned left arm on his knee, he started rubbing his face with his right hand, eventually resting it over his eyes. "Fuck." He grumbled to himself. Faintly, he heard footsteps coming towards him and he turned his attention to the only door in the room, tensing his muscles slightly and readied to react. However the person who opened the door was Orihime. _"_ _She's still around then? That would explain my wounds being healed."_

Not more than a half-step behind her was an unharmed Ichigo, watching Grimmjow closely. At the sight of the Arrancar awake, he protectively took a step around and in front of the woman. "What the hell got into you?"

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" The Arrancar replied spitefully.

"You were fighting and acting like a mindless animal all night! It was no wonder I cut through your Resurreccion!" Kurosaki replied in an agitated tone.

Grimmjow's eyes scanned the room but they found no sign of his missing Zanpakuto. "Where's my Pantera?" He demanded.

"Oh! Now he wants his sword back?" a different voice said in an upbeat and playful tone that sounded entirely mocking to the man.

"Yeah! I want my Pantera back so I can leave this shitty place!" Grimmjow practically yelled back to Urahara, who he was sure was hiding a faked smile behind his fan.

"Alright, come this way." He said easily, which did not sit well with Ichigo.

"You can't be serious?! After the way he killed that guy and nearly destroyed an entire hospital?!"

"But all things considered it turned out better than expected. After you saved Officer Hatsu he said that he needed to look into the legitimacy of that man's claim about being attacked plus you stopped Grimmjow before he could hurt anyone innocent. And both of you are all healed up so there's no reason to still be mad." Orihime spoke up for the first time.

 _"_ _I still can't tell if this woman is too stupid or too kind. Either way, it's a miracle that she's still alive after all that's happened."_ The Arrancar thought to himself, remembering the small amount of time that she was in Las Noches and how she actually participated in the war against the Quincies.

Otherwise ignoring the two humans, Grimmjow stood and followed as the shady Shinigami led them into a different room of what he was now able to confirm as the shop, where Pantera was waiting along with what looked like a body but it lacked any detail to its form though it did have a man's clothes on. Grimmjow looked suspiciously at Urahara as he slid Pantera back into its place on his belt.

"It's a blank gigai, just for you. If you're going to be hanging around in the World of the Living the Soul Society would feel a lot more comfortable and a lot less suspicious of you if you were using one. You could use the extra show of good faith, especially after your spectacular display of your old Espada behavior. This one is specifically for you, complete with a lock that gives me full control over when you can leave it."

He eyed the white mass with disgust. He just spent months trapped in a cat gigai, he absolutely didn't want to go into a new one, even if it was a human body this time. Especially not if he was to rely on Urahara to leave it.

Seeing clear unhappiness in Grimmjow's face, Urahara spoke up again, this time in his dark and serious voice. "Let me clarify for you. Stay in this town freely and wear the gigai, stay in this town with a constant escort from the Soul Society or return to Hueco Mundo. Those are the three options you had been given by the Captain Commander."

He wasn't ready to go back to Hueco Mundo just yet and being under a constant watch was both irritating and insulting. "Fine. How do I put this thing on?" He asked begrudgingly.

The body was confining and uncomfortable but not nearly as much as the cat one was. The moment he was in the gigai he left the shop and the people in it. Making his way to the nearest subway station he could find, jumping the ticket machine since he doesn't have any money and rode it a few stops just to get some distance in.

Grimmjow found himself once again walking aimlessly down the streets, only this time he was doing his best to get away from Urahara. The feeling that had been bothering him had changed slightly since killing the human shit that caused Yukiko's arrest. It was still there, but different. The sense of rage that had been a part of it was gone leaving him feeling something that he understood even less than before.

It wasn't until the sensation started feeling like it was quivering did he look at where he was. He stood not more than two blocks away from Yukiko's apartment. Not knowing what else to do he decided to make his way there. Out of habit, his first impulse was to go to the side of the building where her once open, now broken, window is. _"_ _Right. I'm in a human gigai now, not a cat."_ He walked around to enter the building through its front door. _"_ _She kept a spare key in the light next to her door."_ He remembered.

Walking down the hall he kept reading the door numbers until he found the door he was looking for. It was blocked off with plastic yellow strips that read "Do not enter". He tore it down uncaring and reached for the key from its place. When his eyes landed on the sign at her door the sensation turned into an intense pain that made him clutch his chest, where his heart would be if he had one. He read the sign beside the door over and over, certain he was seeing things. _"_ _What the hell is this?"_

His eyes started losing focus and he started panting. Feeling too exposed in ways he never has before, Grimmjow rushed into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. He didn't go far into the room though, leaning back against the door, his breathing labored even more and the feeling grew even more painful. He could no longer see anything and used the hand that wasn't tightly gripping his chest to rub his eyes and clear his vision. When he pulled his hand away it was wet. "Why?" His breath caught in his throat.

"Why, Yukiko?" _In this moment, he hated her._

He slid to the floor, slamming a fist against the wall when he sat. "Why couldn't you have just left me in that alley?" He remembered the first time she found him, injured and uncertain of what happened. _He hated that she took him in._

There were so many points in their time together when it didn't make any sense to Grimmjow why she was going out of her way for him. And the memory of each one intensified the pain in his chest and each time he was certain it couldn't hurt any more. _He hated that she was so good to him._

His mind settled on multiple memories of her returning to the apartment and when she would see him already there she would always say the same thing. He looked up and felt a wetness trail down the corner of his face from his eye. "I'm home."

There was a sign that sat on the wall next to the door in the hallway... A sign that read: Unit 15, Ametsuchi Yukiko, and under that Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow. _He hated her for giving him a real home with her, only for her to disappear from his side._

()

Yukiko sat as far as she could into the corner of her bed as she ran her finger uncomfortably through her cut hair. It was all gone and she was left with what looked like a poorly done pixie cut.

The door to her room opened and a female doctor walked in with a file and a pad of blank paper and pen which she placed on the nightstand beside the bed. The woman offered Yukiko a friendly and reassuring smile. "Good morning Ametsuchi-chan. I hope you slept well, I understand it was a bit of a trip to get here."

Yukiko didn't make any move to reach for the paper that was clearly for her to use to speak with. She just continued to fuss with her hair.

"I'm sorry about that. It's policy that all of our patients have their hair cut upon admission." She took a deep breath before attempting to speak again. "I understand something bad happened last night. Do you want to talk about it?"

Yukiko looked at the woman and her eyes trailed down to the file. It wasn't well covered and she could read some of the symptoms on it: muteness, violent outbursts, fainting, compulsive behavior… If there were more listed she couldn't see them. They surely thought her "symptoms" were a result of some childhood trauma. Most of them were related to her power, but how could she explain that? If she started talking about visions they would add delusional to her symptoms and there's no way the testimony of person with a "history of mental problems" would stand against someone who "worked for the sake of the disabled." Everything about this place and her situation made her sick.

 _"_ _Grimmjow…"_ She thought of her friend longingly and wondered what he was doing since he certainly gotten his body back.

The other woman in the room sighed. "I can see you aren't ready to talk about it yet. I'll come back again though."

 _"_ _In other words, I'm not going anywhere."_ Yukiko understood the unspoken part of her words.

As she passed the far corner of the bed she glanced at the plate on untouched toast and eggs. "Be sure to eat though. I'm sure you don't have an appetite but it will still help you feel better."

Yukiko watched in sadness as the metal door that locks from the outside closed her in the room. She was tempted to reach for her food but couldn't just yet. Her internal warning came and her head dropped back against the wall. Her irises closed themselves revealing an image of hornets swarming over a graveyard.

When Yukiko's eyes opened she reached out, not for the food, for the pen and paper that was left with her. She preferred painting but this will have to do; if one picture is not good enough she can just make more, it's not like she had something else to do.

She began to ink out what she had seen with a dead calm. _"_ _Rin…You're finally making you move."_

* * *

 **So… I'm sorry again. No reunion just yet. I promise this separation will not last long at all. I'm not trying to be a tease I just need a few things to happen and they won't happen with our pair together :(**

 **I hadn't really made it obvious before but this is not meant to be a short story. There is a lot of stuff that happens even after they get together. So I know it's taking a while to get there but Grimmjow and Yukiko will be together for the majority of the story; that is a guarantee.**

 **Next chapter won't be coming so quickly, I just had a lot of time off because my school was closed a couple of days due to a big storm and flooding and I was kind of on a writing high after the last chapter.**

 **Yay Comments! (´** **｡** **•** **ω** **•** **｡** **`) :**

 **lauren,souliere: I know that's a period in you name not a comma but the website is being a sassy sac of deletes about it right now. Thank you. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter.**

 **Savage Kill: It sort of continued downhill but it will go back to a nicer feeling in a bit. In the meantime Grimmjow goes full feral as well as gets on the receiving end of some teases though I think he handled it well. I want my characters to be happy but I also like darker tones so it's going to go a bit back and forth.**

 **Midnight-Knightmare: I hope you enjoyed the new chapter :)**

 **XD-kaycee: You liked my dark stuff? Yay! I'm really honored to hear (read) that you consider this story to be one of your favorites, I just hope you can bear with it for the little bit left before they are together. Grimmjow doesn't realize it but he tipped off the police about what really happened while he was interrogating the officer so her freedom is already in the works in story. I hope you enjoyed our boy's lapse in sanity in his torture of Shimata.**

 **Guest: You read all the chapters in one go? You deserve a cookie for that! No reunion for our couple to be but Grimmjow did finally get his fight with Ichigo so I kind of hopes it makes up for it.**

 **Mrs. Swordslover: Soooo… I updated soon but no fluff stuff. Sorry again :( I do hope Grimmjow's treatment of Shimata was everything you hoped for though.**

 **AnnaSkydrac: Thank you for calling my story unique, it really means a lot. I also really do appreciate that you liked the pace the building of the relationship beforehand. Even though it was important I thought it was pretty boring, and I'm the one writing it ^^' I hope you enjoyed Grimmjow's reaction to not being able to get to Yukiko.**

 **Silent Songstress Sorceress: Shimata is no more! :)**

 **Darkangelynn5: Surprisingly I was able to update very soon**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello everyone! I'm sorry it's been a while. School is in full gear and it keeps me busy. But I didn't have internet access to do my homework today so I got a chapter done. *Trembles in the corner* So much writing...**

 **But if I didn't finish it today I wouldn't have been able to get to it for probably another two weeks. Oh well! It's done so enjoy! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

Day 1

Grimmjow felt exhausted. He was still a little sore from his fight with Kurosaki but it was different. He felt tired and his head hurt now which he didn't when he woke up that morning. He suspected the cause of this new exhaustion but would cut his own arm off before ever admitting it, even to himself. He was Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow, the former Sexta Espada. The incarnation of destruction. He does _not_ cry.

He had moved away from the door and was instead laying on the futon, trying to relax and let the headache go away. It was an odd realization that the futon was a bit small, it was barely big enough for him. It made him wonder how much smaller Yukiko was then him as she seemed to fit perfectly fine on it. From his place he watched the rectangle of light that came through the window creep up the refrigerator as the sun sank lower. It wasn't until the light was blocked completely by the buildings outside the window that Grimmjow sat upright. He couldn't stay here for too long. Someone was bound to come into the apartment sooner or later and it would cause a commotion if he was staying there. It wasn't like he had a reason to stick around without her being here anyways. There was no reason for him to be in the World of the Living right now actually. He lost to Kurosaki again so he should go back to Hueco Mundo to train some more.

He looked around the room that had served as his… home… for over a month. There was still some glass on the floor but most of it had been cleaned up. The tatami mats that were blood stained had been removed, exposing the concrete floor beneath. The picture that had been broken over Shimata's head was gone too. So instead he looked at what was left in the room. Yukiko's travel bag was still on the floor next to the table with her dirty clothes piled inside. Sitting on the table was the little charm he had taken back from their trip. He then looked at the pictures that were stacked against the dresser and became curious.

Grimmjow got up from the floor and left the room. He wasn't sure where to go so he just wandered around the hall until he found someone. It was just a random stranger but he was able to give Grimmjow the information he wanted. The Arrancar went to the second floor knocked on a door. After a handful of seconds the old man manager that ran the building opened it. "Can I help you?"

"I'm…" Grimmjow needed a second to think on what he'll call himself. If he said acquaintance the man might be reluctant to talk. If he said cat the man will definitely not talk. "… a friend of Yukiko's."

The man looked shocked. " _You_ are? I didn't even realize she had friends. She's a sweet young woman but she seemed to keep to herself."

"Uh, yeah."

The man, whose name Grimmjow didn't bother to remember assuming he heard it, looked very concerned. "I'm sorry to tell you this but Ametsuchi-san won't be coming back for a while."

Grimmmjow wasn't going to bother asking where she went since he already knew, even if the old man did know that he did. "When is she coming back?"

He seemed uncomfortable. "We do not know. She will come home when… it's time for her to come home."

 _"_ _Shit."_ Grimmjow thought disappointed. "What's going to happen with her place and stuff?"

"I'm going to leave it alone until I get word from her."

"Alright. Thanks." He was short with the man but didn't care. The Arrancar was done with the building. He was going to get back to Urahara to get released from the gigai and go back to Hueco Mundo.

"Wait! Kid!"

He almost tripped. Grimmjow's been called a lot of things but never kid. "What?"

"She had a cat named Grimmjow. Maybe you heard about him? I haven't seen him since last night but would you mind keeping a look out for him. He's black but you'll know it when you see him. He has very…" The man's words trailed off the longer he looked the Arrancar in his striking blue eyes. The older man continued to look at him with an unspeakable question in his eyes.

"You won't be seeing that cat running around anymore." This time Grimmjow really did make it back to the stairs and he returned to the ground floor, intending to go on his way but when he got to Yukiko's room he wasn't able to just walk by and pretend like he didn't notice it. He needed to move on with his day or he'd never make it back to his world. He went in one more time. He tried to pretend he wasn't doing what he was when he took the sketch book out of the bag that sat on the floor and shoved the charm in between some of its pages. It was weird that he wanted them and since he couldn't create an excuse for it, telling himself that the charm was his anyways and he just needed something to put it in where he won't forget was the best he could do.

He wasted no more time in returning to the shop now that he was able to find it with ease. When he walked through the repaired entrance the blonde Shinigami was there as if waiting for him. "Welcome back!~"

Grimmjow clicked his tongue and looked away. "I want to go back to Hueco Mundo."

"Aw-w… Already? Are you sure you don't want to stay a little longer?" The man sounded positively irritating.

The only solace that came to the Arrancar was when a foot shot out from behind the shady man and slammed into the back of his head and pinned his face down to the floor. "Kisuke stop this now!"

It was the dark skinned woman that worked with him.

With his face squished to the floor Urahara laughed an apology. "Swori swori."

Yoruichi let him up and spoke with crossed arms. "I see you failed to tell Grimmjow that Nel came here looking for him."

This caught the Arrancar's attention. "Nelliel? What the hell did she want?"

Urahara sat up and fixed his hat. "She was here on Tier's behalf, didn't really say why; just that you had been missing for almost a month. Needless to say that was a little while ago."

Grimmjow sighed. "Great… Maybe I should stay permanently."

"Nope." The male Shinigami said as he rammed his cane through Grimmjow's forehead, pushing his real body out of the shell.

"Get going before I contact them myself." Yoruichi threatened him.

Putting it off until Nelliel comes herself or worse, the annoying trio that follow Harribel around like fleas, would make for the most irritating outcome of all. "Fine."

Having reluctantly agreed, Grimmjow opened a garganta. After he opened the air behind him he reached down to the gigai on the floor and pulled the sketch book out from its hand. Naturally Urahara had to say something about it. "Oooh… What could that be?"

"None of your fucking business." Grimmjow practically snarled and jumped through the dark corridor, shutting the mouth like opening behind him before the two weird people had a chance to further bother him.

His garganta reopened in his room in Las Noches.

It had been such a long time since he was there that it almost didn't feel familiar. It had a bed, a little square table next to it and an empty dresser all of which were already in the room when he moved in at the start of his position as an Espada. He never cared about the room enough to add to or remove anything since he came to it solely to sleep. There were other rooms in the building that were considered his that he did spend some thought making his own but since Las Noches was used as housing for injured Hollows recently some of those rooms, like the bedrooms of his former fraccion, had been temporarily occupied.

He took in his sparsely furnished bedroom with disinterest. It lacked something that Yukiko's room had and he couldn't quite decide what it was. Maybe it was the personal touch her living space had? _"_ _Or maybe it as the fact that a_ living _person was living there."_ Grimmjow 's finger tips curled slightly against the flexible cover of the sketch book in his hand. He sat down on the bed and looked at the cover of the book. It was scribbled on but there was nothing that made any kind of image and he could see the charm peeking out from the pages where he put it. He wasn't really sure what to do with it now that he had it with him. He didn't want to leave the book laying around for anyone to find. He wouldn't put it past any of the Hollows in the building to take and let it get damaged either purposely or out of carelessness. He felt someone familiar coming at a very high speed. He did the first thing he could think of with the book and shoved it under the pillow on the bed.

Uncertain if the door was going to survive otherwise, Grimmjow also got up and opened it. It seemed to be a good choice because Nelliel came bulldozing into the room and almost tackled him. He didn't care for the treatment though so he stepped out of the way. "Grimmjow you dummy! Where have you been?!"

"The World of the Living. And what's with that freaky welcome?!" From what he had seen, that type of behavior was exclusively for Kurosaki.

The green haired woman composed herself and once again held her usual calm disposition. "You disappeared without any trace for months. For all we knew you had been killed."

Grimmjow took the opportunity to mock her. "You got all sad because you though I was dead?"

He could see a hint of a frown come to her face. "You are important to the future of Las Noches and Tier's rule."

The man closed his eyes and turned away with a scoff. "That woman ain't my King."

There was a sharp smack across his head. "HEY!"

Nel was showing a clear frown now. "Harribel-san is your King, regardless of your opinion. Also, you need to speak with her now that you are back."

Grimmjow scratched his head. "Sure. I'll get to it."

He heard her growl slightly at his response. "No. You will see her now."

She then proceeded to shove him out the door and followed behind him as if to herd him in her desired direction. _"_ _Pushy fucking women…"_ Grimmjow complained to himself.

He was slow to walk since he had no interest in his destination but he did eventually get to the King's throne room. Nelliel shoved past him and opened the door. "Harribel-san. Grimmjow has finally returned."

The man offered a lazy greeting. "Yo."

For once the blonde woman was alone in the room. "Grimmjow, welcome back."

"Great. Thanks. I'll see you later." He was ready to leave already.

"So, you are not going to tell me where you've been?" The woman challenged.

"World of the Living. Happy?"

"Why?" She questioned further.

"To fight Kurosaki." Grimmjow was losing his patience and it showed in his voice.

"Then why were you missing for so long? From what Nelliel gathered you hadn't even made contact with Kurosaki-san for at a minimum of almost a month after you went away."

He growled slightly at the continuation of the questions. "I was held up by something. Are you going to ask me when I last took a shit too or can I go?!"

"Where exactly do you plan to go?" Nel questioned suspiciously from behind him.

"Back to my room! Ya got a problem with that?!"

"Nelliel-san, could you please leave us?" Harribel ask.

The other woman seemed surprised but nodded and left without question. Now that the two were alone Tier left her chair and approached closer to Grimmjow, never dropping her relaxed demeanor. "While you were gone we have been furthering our efforts to further empower and build up Hueco Mundo. We have located more Arrancar that had been created by Aizen, but even more interestingly, we've found five who claim to have evolved without coming into contact with Aizen."

The male Arrancar crossed his arm and snorted. "That's not really interesting... It's been happening for centuries."

"What makes it interesting is that they have evolved since the war. There has never been such a large influx of Arrancar evolution. Nelliel is older than us and scouted Hollows for Aizen. Back then there would be years between new natural Arrancar."

"Why are you bothering me this?"

"I want to utilize you in teaching the new Arrancar that are brought in."

"What?! You want me to teach?! That's the dumbest fuckin' idea I've ever heard!"

He didn't miss the quiet chuckle that escaped Harribel. "Yes, you are absolutely crude, wild, and insubordinate. However you are skilled and command respect in a way others do not. I do recall that you had the largest fraccion of the Espada with the exception of Szayelaporro, who created his for the purpose of sacrificing them."

"Those idiots followed me around since I was an Adjuchas. We were turned into Arrancar together and they weren't even close to being strong enough to be Espada so I let them serve me directly."

"That doesn't make your ability to lead any less real. So long as you don't lead any of the new Arrancar to their deaths I would consider you a successful commander. Of course I'm not going to place all of them under your care. I'll leave you in charge of one as a test. Depending on how you do I will make my decision to give you more."

"Don't bother. I don't want any." Grimmjow told her with a sour frown.

"Are you sure? I thought you would be happy to have soldiers at your command."

The comment made Grimmjow's ears perk. Soldiers at his command? That did sound appealing. "Fine…"

"Good. Your new student will be waiting for you in the former Espada meeting hall tomorrow morning."

"Whatever." He turned and exited the room to return to his. His headache was back and he wanted to take a nap.

Day 2

Grimmjow's sleep was restless. If anything, he felt more exhausted when he woke up then when he went to bed. At least his headache was gone. He couldn't resist heaving a sigh when he sat up though. He was back in his large, cold, empty room in Las Noches. He was starting to miss the tiny, warm and cozy apartment already. _"_ _Yukiko…"_

He wasn't sure when exactly he was supposed to meet with this new Arrancar, all Harribel said was that it would be the next day. Besides, who cares if he makes the guy wait a little bit? He opened a garganta from his room and sent it straight to Yukiko's apartment. The room was almost exactly as it had been the previous day with the exception of new glass in the window. It was still morning though, so she could possibly come back later in the day, which meant it would be better if he was to check later in the day too. _"_ _But before that…"_

Gimmjow walked to the fridge against the wall and checked its contents. He was thrilled to find a little bit of leftover food from the night before they left for the festival. It may not be breakfast food but it was food so that's all that mattered. He remembered watching her operate the rectangle machine that sat on the refrigerator and put the now unwrapped plate of fish and carrots with broccoli in it. He pressed some random button that had the number 3 on it and the box hummed to life. He watched the timer count down from three minutes but about half way through it there was a burning smell emanating from the microwave. He pulled the door open and watched as the food steamed and popped. It was a little over heated but otherwise seemed edible. He plucked the reusable chopsticks from a drying rack that was currently in the sink since that was the only utensil in the room aside from large knives that were only occasionally used and sat on the floor at the table. Without hesitation he tore off a piece of fish and put it in his mouth. "Mmwahh!"

He hadn't considered the fact that the inside of his mouth isn't protected by his hierro so the fish burned his tongue. He sat there with it hanging out of his mouth so the cooler air could flow around and sooth it. After a minute or so, he took another piece of fish but this time he blew on it before putting it in his mouth. This time he could taste it. It was kind of dry from being cooked too long in the microwave but was otherwise good. Arrancar don't actually get hungry or have to eat but he couldn't stop himself and ate every bite swiftly. When it was all gone he had no reason to stay. Not caring about the plate or sticks he had used, the Arrancar stood back up and returned to Las Noches directly into the meeting hall that he was supposed to go to.

There was a kid there waiting in one of the ten chairs that lined the grand table. He looked at the opening portal with shock and stared as Grimmjow walked through. "You're seriously who Harribel wants me to teach?"

To call him a kid almost felt like an understatement. If he was human the short Arrancar could have passed for a twelve year old. The boy had black hair that was pushed up similar to Grimmjow's but spikier and shorter and it showed off some red strips. He was wearing tattered brown cloths tied around him as makeshift shirt and pants and the only other thing on him was a red woven strap diagonally across his torso that held his zanpakuto across his back. His face looked just as young as the rest of his body, possibly younger with large golden eyes and a mask fragment that covered everything above his brow and passed his hair line. Even the mask looked large for his face with its only distinct feature was a cluster of three almond shaped holes that sat above each eye. His Hollow hole wasn't on display; but it's not like Grimmjow kept his exposed anymore either.

The kid was staring, apparently not realizing he was asked a question.

"HEY KID!"

He flinched, showing that he heard that.

"You're here for me right? What's your name?"

"Sorry! Yes! I'm Stuttgart Achiim. You're Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow right? I heard about you from the others." The boy seemed a bit nervous but he was weirdly excited for someone meeting Grimmjow.

 _"_ _At least I don't have to bother with introducing myself."_ He sighed. "Good. So what am I supposed to be teaching you?" It's not like Harribel actually explained it.

"Um… I'm not really sure. I guess just how to be an Arrancar."

This irritated him. "What the fuck does that mean? You don't learn to be an Arrancar! It doesn't matter how much you evolve, as long as you have a piece of a mask and a hole in your body, you're a Hollow."

The kid seemed even more nervous now. "That's not what the others said. They said that we're better then Hollows and that we need to act like better creatures."

Grimmjow growled a bit. "That sounds like something Nelliel would say. Why the hell isn't she taking care of you then?"

"I don't know."

The older man continued to frown as he considered his situation, until he sighed. "Fine. If I'm going to teach you then I'm going to teach you what I do best."

He started to glow with Rietsu, startling Achiim.

"Protect yourself if you don't want to die."

A warning was a courtesy that he didn't give most but it would probably be bad if he killed the kid. He didn't use Sonido or even reinforced his body with Hierro, he just charged the kid and threw a straight punch for his face. He yelp and bolted under the table, coming back up on the other side. It bothered Grimmjow so he jumped over the table and threw a punch for his stomach. Achiim pulled a chair in between them and rushed back. Getting a bit irritated now, Grimmjow threw the chair at the boy who dove under the table again but this time didn't come up the other side. Grimmjow could feel a vein in his forehead burst.

He grabbed the edge of the table and threw it across the room, exposing the cowering child beneath.

"Do you think running and hiding is protecting yourself?"

Achiim stuttered as he spoke. "I-I… I don't want to _die_."

"What class of Hollow were you when you evolved?" He growled out.

He didn't answer immediately so Grimmjow intensified his glare until he did. "I was a Vasto Lorde."

Grimmjow's shock showed clear on his face. _"_ _I didn't even make it to Vasto Lorde before becoming an Arrancar!"_

"How did you make it that far running away from fights like this?!"

"I never fought, it scares me. I just had to lay traps."

Grimmjow grabbed Achiim by the collar of his rag-shirt and carried him out of the meeting hall and straight to Harribel's throne room where he could already sense the Hollow King and Nelliel. When he disintegrated the door with a Cero and waved Achiim in the air the two women looked at him expectantly. "What the fuck am I supposed to do with this kid?!"

"Grimmjow you should be more gentle with children." Nel stated exasperated.

"And use the door rather than destroy it." Harribel added.

The blue haired man glared at Nel and dropped the child Arrancar. "Don't give me that! And don't give me any more of that vague ass 'teach him' shit! What the fuck are you expecting me to teach a kid who is afraid to fight?!"

Nel approached and helped the boy up, completely ignoring Grimmjow now. "Achiim, are you alright?"

Achiim blushed slightly as he took the woman's hand so she could help him up and his words rushed out. "Yes thank you!"

Grimmjow looked back at Harribel. "Give the kid to Nelliel. She'll baby him all he needs."

"Don't think I didn't ask." The green haired woman interjected.

"I'll admit that I am not keen on violent Arrancar among our ranks but they do need to be strong. I decided someone who won't baby Achiim would be best for him. I'll just have to hope that your personality does not influence his too much." Tier spoke with her usual calm and her voice projected an impressive sense of authority.

The man grumbled unintelligible words but didn't really say anything else.

"Am I expecting too much from you in my belief that you are capable of teaching another how to fight?" It was a challenge against him.

"Come on kid." Challenge accepted.

"Grimmjow, you _could_ learn his name." Nel called after him. He didn't say anything; just flipped her off and kept walking.

After leaving the two women Grimmjow took Achiim outside and had him take an offensive against him and the panther would only be on defense since any time he moves threateningly the brat gives up and runs. It was frustrating to say but Grimmjow wasn't sure how he was going to teach this kid. He literally had no idea of what he was doing. He couldn't even punch properly. When the older Arrancar had him punch with all his strength and he took it without his hierro to feel how much power he had… It was barely above that of an Adjunchas. His Cero never hit its target and he didn't hold his sword properly either, opting to flail it around like a club instead!

"You are by far the most incapable Hollow I've ever seen." He was as blunt as can be with his words.

Achiim crouched on the ground and buried his face in his knees.

"If you cry I will give you reason to cry until you physically can't anymore."

The boy flinched and showed his face. He was clearly wanted to but held back his tears and snot.

Grimmjow picked up some rubble that was set aside from all of the clean up and carried it closer to the kid. He walked about fifteen meters from it and drew a line in the sand. "Stand here and hit the rock with a Cero."

Achiim walked to the line and held out his right hand, braced himself, charged up his red Riatsu and fired it. The blast knocked him off his balance and he stumbled back. The Cero blast missed entirely. _"_ _This kid is too small for his power."_

"Fire another." He ordered.

The boy pushed himself off the ground and stood to fire his Cero again.

"Square yourself."

Achiim looked back at him. "What does that mean?"

"Square your stance."

Still a blank look.

Grimmjow sighed and used his feet to hook the kid's ankles and pulled them to be wider and more stable. He then turned him at the shoulders so Achiim was standing completely square. "Now fire."

The little Arrancar charged up and fired. He was still jousted by the power but this time was able to remain standing. Achiim looked back at Grimmjow with a proud smile on his face.

"What are you so pleased for? You still missed." The man looked and sounded bored as he sat down on a smaller piece of rubble. He expected this to take a while.

"R-right!" He spoke loudly and tried again. And again... and again...

This kid really didn't have any skill. After his fifteenth Cero that also failed to make contact with the boulder he was covered in sweat and looked like he was about to collapse. "Can I take a break?"

"You're still standing so no."

"But-" Achiim tried to protest.

"And complaining. If you want a break then hit your target." Grimmjow said sternly.

Achiim took a few intentional deep breaths that wasn't just panting and took aim. He was hesitant to fire his Cero since he was exhausted. He seemed to be struggling as he charged his Rieatsu but the kid did his best to hold himself steady. When he fired off the energy he fell backwards and didn't get back up. Achiim was out cold.

Grimmjow got up from his spot and stood at the boy's side, his shadow casting over him. "Well kid. Lucky for you, you earned your break with that last shot."

The large stone chunk that sat fifteen meters away had the top left quarter of it blasted away. It wasn't a great shot, but it was the only one that touched the target so for Achiim's first day of this Grimmjow had no real choice but to accept it as good enough for now.

He walked back into Las Noches and made it about five minutes in before he ran into Nel. She was with a few Arrancar he had never seen nor cared to get to know. "Grimmjow, how is it going with Achiim?"

"He's pathetic."

The woman crossed her arms and the newcomers watched with interest. "He's still a child. He needs to be looked after."

"Do you remember how long it takes Hollows to age? I'm not looking after a kid, and I'm definitely not doing it for the next five hundred or so years!"

"Don't be silly. Children grow quickly. It should only take three hundred for him to become old enough to look after himself."

"Fuck that…"

"In the mean time…" She continued on as if not hearing his refusals. "I trust you won't do something as irresponsible as leave him somewhere to get eaten by a stray Hollow." There was an accusing tone to her voice that showed she knew that he had done just that already.

Grimmjow turned with a grumble and returned to Achiim. He picked the kid up and took him back into Las Noches. While he didn't know where the boy had been staying previously, if he was under Grimmjow's command then he should be staying in one of the rooms that had previously belonged to his old Fraccion. He opened the door to the first bedroom after he reached his area and dropped the sweaty pipsqueak onto the unused bed then left.

 _"_ _I've got nothing else really that I have to do. Now's as good of a time as any to check for Yukiko I guess."_ He opened his garganta for a third time that day and returned to the apartment.

Nothing had moved. His dirty plate and chopsticks from the morning were still on the table. The futon was not folded or occupied. The window was still closed.

He looked through the glass rectangle. The sky was clear and blue. It was probably crisp outside as the World of the Living moved closer to their winter season. He finally picked the dirty stuff off of the table and put them in a small tub that was in the single sink beneath the drying rack. He filled it up with water without removing the clean plates and bowls, allowing the water to just run over them too.

He decided to go back to Hueco Mundo for the rest of the day. The old man said that she wouldn't be back for a while so it was kind of pointless for him to come back again so quickly. He'll just have to find some Hollows to kill to pass the time.

Day 7

"WE'RE BACK!" The annoying voice of Emiluo Apacci shouted through the palace. Tier's Fraccion trio had been nowhere to be seen since Grimmjow returned and he only realized it because there were fewer things annoying him. He was just walking through the hall to go outside when he encountered the women. It was horrible luck.

"Well, well, well. Look who returned! I thought for sure you were dead ass-wipe." The ever rude female taunted.

"I'm shocked. Even I never expected to see you again." Sung-sun spoke from behind her sleeve.

"Hm. You two owe me free favors." Mila Rose said proudly.

"Fuck. Why'd you have to go and bet that he _would_ make it back?" Apacci complained.

"I liked the possibility of winning favors." The giant woman was smug.

"Here I was hoping you three finally got eaten… Why'd _you_ shits have to come back?" Grimmjow bit back.

"How dare you?! Harribel-sama sent us on a personal errand for her! We're her most trusted Arrancar after all!" The deer Arrancar said irritatingly smugly, pointed at one large and one smaller sack that the gladiator looking woman was holding behind her shoulder.

Grimmjow laughed in her face. "You actually think being little errand girls is an honor? You really are the dumbest thing I've ever seen."

Apacchi's face reddened with anger, Sung-sun looked annoyed while Mila Rose only seemed mildly upset. "Why you-"

"You've returned." Tier spoke from behind the three women.

"Harribel-sama!" All three greeted their beloved leader with excitement.

"Apacchi and Sung-Sun, would you two please go and collect all of the Arrancar and bring them to the meeting hall?"

"Yes ma'am!" They said happily and rushed off in obedience of their leader.

"Come." Harribel said briskly to the remaining two. Grimmjow didn't have anything else to do so he complied.

Once in the meeting hall Mila Rose placed the sacks down on the table and a variety of clothes spilled out of one and shoes from the other. "What?" Grimmjow was really confused.

"We need clothing for the new members of our ranks and there is no reason for us to continue wearing the same things as well." Harribel explained.

 _"_ _So she is a female…"_ The man thought.

"There are clothes in here that will fit you as well." Mila Rose said to him.

Well, Grimmjow was still wearing the same black shirt and pants that he had since the Quincy War. It wouldn't _hurt_ to wear something new…

The man dug through the pile briefly. Unsurprisingly, everything in it was black and white. He didn't care much about what he wore so he grabbed the first things he didn't hate from both bags and left to go back to his bedroom to change before grabbing the kid to start their lesson for the day.

About a half hour later Grimmjow was outside wearing a sleeveless solid black shirt, black pants that fit slightly more loosely than his previous one tucked into combat boots that had different shades of black and white laces. He continued to wear his old Espada jacket and the white belt he had been using to hold his Pantera but he ditched the second one. His new shirt didn't display his scars the way his previous one did but the one Nnitora gave him still poked out. Achiim, who was shooting off Balas, was now wearing a tee shirt that had a single thick black strip going vertically down the middle and the sides were white, his zanpakuto was still across his back. With it he wore white shorts that had pockets on the outside thighs that secured shut with black buttons. He still lacked shoes though, apparently preferring to be barefoot.

The boy had actually been improving in his training since starting. Grimmjow had been forcing him to focus on one thing when working with him. His aim had improved greatly and he could accurately hit a target from forty meters which was good enough for the time being. Now Grimmjow wanted him to work successive firing. An opponent isn't going to wait for him to charge up at his own pace in a fight after all.

"Faster kid! You've got plenty of Reiatsu. You should be able to fire at least one per second." Grimmjow was getting impatient with the kid's progress but he kept himself relaxed, reclining back comfortably a few feet behind Achiim with his eyes closed, not even actually watching. He didn't need to in order to know that the kid was only firing off three in ten second intervals.

"I can't." He said the words so quietly they almost went unheard.

"This is as basic as it gets kid. I haven't even started you on real combat yet. So suck it up and get to work."

"You do it if it's so easy." Achiim had been growing a bit bolder these past few days too.

He never moved from his spot, never opened his eyes. He held out his fist and fired off five Balas in quick succession, all under a second. He had them all curve around the little Arrancar since he was in the way and they blasted the rubble that was being used as targets.

"You have five seconds to do what takes me less than one. Now get to it." He only now looked at Achiim.

The boy looked like he was still trying to understand what just happened. When his brain finally caught up he looked determined. There were no more complaints from Achiim for the rest of the afternoon.

Same as usual, after the young Arrancar exhausted himself until he collapsed Grimmjow took him back inside and then went to the apartment to check for Yukiko.

It had been a full week since she was sent away and she still had not returned. Every time he went there was no change to the room. He looked at the sink where his used dishes still sat in the cold water. _"_ _Should I do something about that?"_ He wondered with no interest.

Day 15

Achiim was now at an acceptable level of skill with ranged attacks so Grimmjow had decided to start him on the most basic thing of combat. Punching. The boy couldn't even make a fist properly so before anything else that needed to be corrected.

He stood next to the boy in front one of the few surviving red stone columns. He punched the smooth, hard surface, pulling his strength as much as he could so it wouldn't get damaged and they wouldn't have to go to another one. "Now do that."

Achiim flinched at the sight of Grimmjow punching the stone so when the boy tried, it went about as well as was expected.

The young boy tried to punch but pulled it at the last second and caused the wrong part of his hand to make the initial contact, hurting him a lot more.

Grimmjow crossed his arms. "We're not going anywhere until you can punch properly."

"I'm going to break my hand if I punch this." He complained.

"It'll heal and you'll learn. Now do it."

Achiim didn't do it. He instead looked at Grimmjow, worried. "Why can't we use something else?"

Grimmjow grinned. "The only other things here is the actual building and the other Arrancar, and you've obviously never hit a Hierro. This is the softest thing here."

"Nel-san is softer." The kid mumbled quietly.

The older Arrancar raised an eyebrow and had an amused grin. "Know that for a fact, do ya?"

Achiim jumped with a red tint to his face. "W-well… Why don't we go to the World of the Living for a change? You go there every day. Just take me with you."

"I'm not doing anything for you. If you want to get there, then open your own garganta."

"If you don't want to do anything for me then why do you take me to bed every time I fall asleep out here?"

There's an easy question. "If you get eaten out here Harribel or Nelliel will be up my ass."

"Why do you go to the human's world every day?" There was an innocent curiosity in the question. He was a child and children never know how to stop pestering people with questions.

"Punch properly." He ordered the kid.

Grimmjow forced Achiim to continue with his punches long after his knuckles started bleeding. Eventually the boy stopped whining and hissing in pain and just punched. It was a much more immediate improvement than he showed with Cero and Bala. After an hour of the child punching the stone pillar it was too boring to continue. There was plenty of time in the day to keep working the boy but Grimmjow knew he wouldn't be able to repeat the same training tomorrow so he'd rather save correcting his kicks for then.

"See you later kid." Was all he said before opening his garganta and checking Yukiko's apartment. There was still no change. So he returned to Hueco Mundo and went looking for a Hollow to fight. He was feeling too stagnant.

Day 25

Achiim had graduated from attacking a rock to fighting Grimmjow; or at least attempting to strike Grimmjow. The more experienced Arrancar never used his Sonido to avoid, he never needed to. Achiim was far slower and couldn't hit him.

This time, as long as he kept his form proper Grimmjow remained on defense but if the kid slipped up he would get hit with enough force to knock him down for at least a minute. It was a good incentive to keep his joints stacked and knuckles straight when he punched. The sparring session continued for multiple hours without breaks. Achiim's stamina had also improved since the first day.

When the boy was so tired he couldn't see straight and had thrown up three times Grimmjow agreed to end it there.

Not bothering to wait and ensure Achiim made it inside, Grimmjow returned to the apartment. It was still unchanged and the window as still closed. He was about to leave again but glanced at the sink. The plate and chopsticks he had used weeks ago still sat there. He sighed and rolled his eyes but finally decided to clean them.

He shoved his hands into the disgustingly cold and stagnant water to pull out the plate and scrubbed it with a sponge that was sitting on the drying rack. He gripped and wiped the plate too hard and it shattered in his hand. Grimmjow growled and threw the pieces in his hand to the floor. He looked at the window. It was latched shut. Without thinking, he grabbed the drying rack now behind him and chucked the whole thing at the exposed concrete flooring. The glass plates and bowls shattered loudly and it made him feel slightly better. He left the apartment again.

Day 30

Grimmjow followed his routine of working with Achiim and then immediately returning to Yukiko's unchanging, empty apartment. Only now he no longer bothered to step out of his garganta. When he returned from the dark corridor he was still outside of the palace. He wanted to just walk back to his room instead of being there immediately. Besides, he might run into someone and bullying the new Arrancar was mildly enjoyable.

His steps quickly caught up the Achiim, who moved slowly due to his soreness, but they didn't speak. Nelliel was the first person they encountered and she was with a new Arrancar. The woman was tall and had knee length sky blue hair with many streaks of red, yellow, orange, green, a darker blue and purple. She was heterochromatic with one brown eyes and one green eye, and her mask fragment looked like an old Greek head band and her hole was peeking out just above her collarbone in her throat. She was tall and curvaceous like the two Tres Espada women but she had not even received proper clothes yet.

"Grimmjow. This is our newest member: Ipoa Iris."

"Good for her." He said, not even slowing in his stride.

"Grimmjow-san…" Iris' voice had a slight melodic trait to it.

"I found this." She held up a tall, thin envelope from the World of the Living. He looked at it, at first with disinterest but that changed drastically when he saw that his name was written on it.

"There was also one addressed to Harribel-san. Do you know anything about who might send these to Hueco Mundo?" Nel asked.

He however wasn't listening. Grimmjow yanked the envelope from the woman and returned to his room at Sonido speed. Once there he slammed shut and latched the pointless lock that anyone could break through. He removed his Pantera from his side and leaned it against his bed as he tore through the envelope and dumped its contents. Two measly pieces of paper floated out. One was a pencil drawing the other was a note. The drawing was them. Yukiko drew herself as she was during the festival, smiling a very happy smile to the black cat that was him, lying comfortably across her nape and shoulders. Grimmjow's feline face had a content feeling to it that made him wonder if he really had that type of feeling with her.

He looked back to the woman's face and focused on it. He was with her every day for some time and now it had been a month since he last saw her. It was such a miniscule amount of time even for a human; a negligible amount for a Hollow. But the past month felt like it dragged on. He inspected every line of her face in the picture; it seemed to match how he remembered her face. It was a testament to her artistic skill, drawing a self-portrait so perfectly.

His expression fell considerably sullen and he knew, though ignored it. Eventually he looked at the other paper. The words were few and quick to read.

 **{"How does it feel to be back in your real form? Much better I'm sure. I miss having a cat with me but I'm excited to meet you properly. We will… Someday soon I'm sure. Grimmjow… I miss you. We'll meet soon. I'm excited for that day. I hope you are too. Take care of yourself until then please.**

 **Yukiko"}**

Grimmjow read through the letter once then looked back at the picture. It was a good night, the festival. He enjoyed it, enjoyed being with her. He could feel Nelliel coming to his room so he pulled the sketchbook from its place beneath his pillow and stored the pages inside.

He went to the door, unlocked and opened it as the woman raised her hand to knock. "Grimmjow?"

She looked at him confused and maybe even a little worried. Was he still making a weird face?

"What the fuck do you want?" He asked crudely.

That did the trick, and the woman's expression hardened slightly. "You ignored my question earlier. Do you know who might have sent these?"

"Obviously." He said, arms crossed and looking at her like she as stupid.

Her face turned a little red and she growled under her breath. "Why would this person send such a strange letter to Hueco Mundo, and more specifically to Harribel-san?"

Grimmjow started rubbing his little finger in his ear, still holding his same expression. "No clue."

"Well what was in the envelope addressed to you?" Nel's voice was getting a little higher pitched as her annoyance heightened.

"None of your business."

"GRIMM-" She started to yell but he slammed the door in her face. She hit it but didn't break it down and he could sense her moving away, probably stomping off. He returned to his bed and lay down. He reached under his head and pillow and felt a string, pulling it and removed the little charm from the book. He looked at it. Yukiko had folded and tied a little strip of blue fabric and string around the paper charm so that he could protected and more easily carried around, but he hadn't been. He looked over at his Pantera, looped the string around the crest of the sheath about where it would catch on his belt then took a nap.

Day 40

Grimmjow followed his routine of working with Achiim and then immediately returning to Yukiko's unchangingly, and increasingly dusty, empty apartment.

Day 48

Grimmjow took Achiim to fight a Gillian. He was kicked but otherwise did fine. He later opened a garganta to check Yukiko's apartment but it was still not changed.

Day 49

Grimmjow worked on Achiim then fought against Harribel's Fraccion trio. They fused into their chimera monster but still lost horribly. Yukiko's apartment was unchanged.

Day 50

After Grimmjow trained Achiim he went into the dark corridor to check Yukiko's apartment. All of her things were gone.

* * *

 **AnnaSkydrac: Thank you so much for the kind words. If you almost cried then that scene was a success. The whole point of it was to convey how hard it hit Grimmjow to realize without the benefit of a distraction that Yukiko was gone. As far as my grammar and spelling goes… They were subjects that I never really excelled in. Sometimes it is purposeful when the grammar is poor though. It might be because I'm American and Floridian (which is sometimes considered a separate planet full of stupid people by others) but colloquially, people don't consistently use proper grammar so I will knowingly use poor grammar then. This is especially apparent when writing Grimmjow's speech because he has a very rough way of talking and I try to make it more or less apparent according to his mood. The more riled up he is the more crude his speech becomes. All other poor grammar choices are just my own poor grammar though.**

 **Emzy2k11: Thank you**

 **Savage Kill: To come up with Yukiko's vision images I have specific symbols assigned to each character or general species (like a skeleton for Hollows) and then I just think about the situation that they are going to be involved in. Physically, no. Grimmjow isn't growing a heart. Emotionally, a bit ;)  
I can't tell you who Rin is but let's just say she isn't someone you want to meet in a dark alley… or a brightly lit meadow for that matter.**

 **Silent Songstress Sorceress: Yeah… I think he loved it.**

 **Mrs. Swordslover : It was just that it meant that he was living there and it was emphasized a bit more in this chapter that living somewhere and having a specific home was something he never really felt. In Las Noches he never made his room quite his because he didn't intend on it being permanent, even though it was indefinite. You'll see how Yukiko handles her situation in the next chapter.  
No, Yukiko is totally mute and there is a reason for it which will come up further down the story. I write when I can as a hobby which is why the releases are so all over the place. As great as it would be for me to have a scheduled time of the day where I would be able to write guaranteed, unfortunately I can only write when I have the time. That said if I realized it would be so long before I could get another chapter finished I would have put off posting the previous one. I'm sorry about that.**

 **Beautiful-note2895: Grimmjow getting Shimata was possibly the most satisfying thing I've written in a while :) I agree, it was a combination of finally getting to release his spiritual pressure and the emotions he couldn't really process that lead to his rampage. I'm glad you like the story and thank you for being patient.**

 **SSGT IronHide: Thank you very much :)**

 **Musicisalifestyle: Thank you and I hope you enjoyed the new chapter. I updated as quickly as I could get to it, but I know it was a bit of a wait.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the long wait. The holiday season was busy this year :(**

* * *

 **Chapter 15**

 **Day 1**

Yukiko sat in a cafeteria and stared uninterestedly at the plate of food in front of her. It was just some tasteless soup paired with some just as tasteless rice. Not only that, but the proportion was more than half the size of her regular meals. It wasn't that they were underfeeding the patients, Yukiko just ate a lot. She took a spoonful of the boring rice with a frown. _"_ _It'd be nice if they let me cook my own meals…"_

There was a loud clattering and the sound of someone yelling something that she didn't bother listening to. When the yelling intensified and more voices joined in she looked up to see what was happening. Three of the patients, two men and a woman, were standing around a broken plate arguing. The woman slapped one of the men and the other started punching her. It was causing the surrounding patients to panic and there was a mixture of responses ranging from panic to excitement and a couple of other patients joined in the fighting before the orderlies made it to the group that started the whole situation. _"_ _I thought this was a hospital, but these patients are acting more like rioting prisoners."_ Yukiko thought with discomfort.

Trusting the orderlies to be able to do their job and resolve the fighting, she returned to the bad meal. It was more important than ever that she finish every bite since she obviously wasn't going to be getting as much food as she's used to. Unfortunately that proved to be a mistake and the fighting had moved across the room and gotten closer to her. He didn't intend to be, probably, but one of the patients was punched or pushed and fell on top of her, pinning her to the table. She didn't intended to, honestly, but when she felt the man's larger body on top of hers she was flooded with panic and gripped the plastic spoon in her hand tightly and turned as she thrusted it down at the man's collar bone. The plastic snapped and the man was still on her, too slow in getting away for her to accept, so she stabbed at him with the now sharp piece of plastic. When the improvised weapon broke through his skin the patient finally backed away, screaming. One of the orderlies grabbed him and started ushering him away while another took hold of Yukiko, grabbing a wrist in each hand. She knew she shouldn't but her sprained wrist surged in pain at being grasped and the woman couldn't contain the impulsive need to get away from the man so she kicked up into his groin causing the orderly to release her then spun and landed a roundhouse kick directly across his cheek.

With the man on the floor she had a second to breathe and realize what she had done. She didn't want any more employees rushing her so she tried to make herself seem less hostile and sat down in a chair just a step away but wrapped herself in her arms so no one else can grab at her hands like that. Yukiko squeezed her eyes shut and took deep breaths to try and calm her fried nerves. With her guard down she felt another large hand grab her shoulder and just as suddenly something sharp pierce her neck. She opened her eyes in surprise but things started to get blurry and she was overcome with an unnatural fatigue.

When Yukiko awoke her head felt like a cement brick and her vision was swimming. She felt like she was on something cushioned so and when her eyes cleared a bit more she could see that she was in a bed room, mostly likely the same one she was brought to that morning. The room was completely bare except for her bed; the nightstand that was there had been removed. There wasn't a pad and pen in sight like they previously left with her so she could communicate. _"_ _Well, I did a pretty good job of proving them right about the violent outbursts."_ She thought, a bit ashamed. _"_ _But that man wasn't getting off of me. That other guy shouldn't have grabbed me!"_ She defended to herself.

She sighed and tenderly rubbed her still throbbing wrist. There was literally nothing for her to do in this room. It was basically a box with a bed and a door without a door handle. She sat up and leaned into a corner, it gave her a good position to watch the door. _"_ _I wonder what Grimmjow is doing… Maybe he's fighting that Shinigami he talked about. I wonder if he won. That Shinigami seemed pretty strong when I saw him before. How strong is Grimmjow? He was the Sexta in the Espada and that was years ago, not that I have any clue how strong the other Espada were. I know he had a lot more Arrancar below him in rank than above him, so he must've been strong. But maybe he already went back to Hueco Mundo. What is he up to there? Probably training again for his next fight, against whoever it is. He wants to be the King of Hollows so maybe that next fight will be against the current king."_ She smiled and giggled slightly. _"_ _King Grimmjow. He'd love that. What would he do as king? From what I can tell the Hollow King doesn't do anything in particular, they're just considered the strongest Hollow."_

Yukiko would have to ponder on that question later. Her wrist was starting to hurt even more now, somehow, and she was starting to grimace and sweat. She remembered Yuzu handing pain medication to one of the officers who arrested her and she could really use some of it now. {"I hope someone is out there."} She said to herself and she went to the door and started knocking. There was no response but she really needed something to take the edge off from her wrist so she kept knocking. It felt like an hour of banging on the door passed, there were even a few of the other patients around her room that started to complain, before someone finally approached her door. A panel slid open on the door and she saw a pair of eyes look around the room and at her. "Yes?" A male voice questioned.

She held up her hand in a brace in response.

"What do you want?"

She groaned internally and pointed at her brace. He continued to look at her with confusion and she heard another voice on his side of the door and he looked away. He looked back at Yukiko. "Could you please back away from the door?"

She complied and retreated to her bed. The door opened and the same woman from that morning entered the room, once again carrying a file and a notepad and pen. "Ametsuchi-chan, do you remember me?"

Yukiko nodded and pointed to the paper and pen in her hands, requesting them. The doctor, Sato, handed them to her and Yukiko wrote her thoughts while glancing at the man that waited at her doorway. **"** **My wrist hurts. The doctor who looked at it gave the police pain medicine for me. I wanted to have some."**

Sato read the message and glanced at Yukiko's injured hand. Her fingers were trembling now. "I see. You were scheduled to receive a dose of the medication with your dinner but you unfortunately missed it. Not only that but, the commotion likely agitated the injury." She turned to the man. "Please go and collect the medication that was brought in with Ametsuchi-chan, as well as a meal."

The man nodded and Yukiko felt herself relax slightly when he was out of sight. The doctor's eyes narrowed in on her when she did but otherwise seemed to ignore it. "While you were sedated after the 'incident' in the cafeteria you were examined by a physician on our staff. He noticed a couple of deep bruises and slight burns. Would you like to tell me what happened?"

 _"_ _No."_ Yukiko thought, and curled up tightly. She can't. She should have known that was going to happen, yet she let her guard down. She knew that _something bad_ was coming her way and she didn't even try to stop it. If she did nothing to prevent anything bad from happening to her, who was she to cry about it now?

"You are not yet ready to talk?" Sato asked.

Yukiko wrote her a message. **"** **Are you trying to be funny?"**

The doctor smiled crookedly. "Do you find me funny?"

Because her expression of a clear lack of amusement apparently wasn't enough of a give-away, Yukiko shook her head no.

Sato continued to smile but it was less joking and more friendly. "That's fine. We can talk some other time. We'll have plenty of time to share."

 **"** **I'd rather you just let me go home."**

Sato sighed. "We can, one day, but not today."

Yukiko was feeling a little frustrated by the woman even though she understood why.

"Since you don't want to talk about last night how about we talk about what happened at lunch."

Yukiko stared off at the end of the bed.

"We will talk again tomorrow." Sato stood and left the room, taking the paper and pen with her.

 **Day 2**

Yukiko was woken up by a knock on her door just before a female nurse entered her room. The sleeping woman stirred and looked up at the nurse groggily. There was a man watching from the doorway but she tried her best to ignore him. She was hungry, very hungry. She hadn't been this hungry in a while actually and it made her a bit nervous.

"Good morning Yukiko-san. How are you feeling today?" The random nurse asked.

*Hungry.* She signed to her.

The nurse looked a little confused. "Hm…" She glanced at a file in her hand, probably Yukiko's. "I apologize Yukiko-san, I don't know sign language."

 _"_ _I see this hospital knows how to assign their nurses to the proper patient."_ Yukiko thought sarcastically. She pointed at the woman to get her to watch her hand and pointed to her open mouth to hopefully indicate a desire for food.

It took a few seconds but eventually the nurse seemed to have caught on. "You are hungry?"

Yukiko nodded.

The nurse smiled, relieved. "Well, please allow me to escort you to the wash room then to get a meal."

The younger woman sighed in relief at getting some food, and a trip to the bathroom. Now if she could just get a bath, change of clothes and a train ticket back to Karakura. The bathroom was as simple as it could get but it was a hospital, it's not like they would decorate it.

Once they made it to the cafeteria the nurse, and her bodyguard/orderly, left Yukiko to join the line and get her food. She waited a moment before joining the line, standing behind a woman. Someone joined the line behind her. She glanced back and saw a man. Her hand throbbed and she felt her spine crawl so she left the line momentarily. After another few people entered the line she saw a girl walking to it so she went back in just before her and after a different woman. By the time she reached the window and received her food she felt like an idiot for getting out of the line the first time. The man behind the counter handed her a tray with eggs, toast and a little plastic cup with her pain killer in it. "Take the medication here and open your mouth so I can see that you took it." He told her. She did without hesitation and then when he acknowledged that she took the pill she motioned for more food, the man said that she wasn't getting anymore. _"_ _Would it really bankrupt them to give me a little food?"_

Yukiko sighed and found an empty table corner to sit at. She wasn't sure what she could do after eating but hopefully the answer was go back to sleep. She was still drowsy and could go for a nap already.

"Hey! You're new aren't you?" It was the cheerful voice of a man that asked and Yukiko kept her focus on her swiftly dwindling food.

"I saw what happened yesterday. The way you kicked Tatara's ass was awesome! Could you teach me how to fight like that?"

Yukiko felt her grip on the fork tighten.

"Oh I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Kukai. I run this place."

She still refused to acknowledge him.

"No I'm serious! This whole place belongs to me. I just pretend to be a patient to help let everyone know that the staff and I are on your side."

The man was obviously delusional, if with no other evidence than the fact that the hospital was government funded, not privately owned. _"_ _Calling it a hospital is just a farce. This is a house for crazies."_

"Hey-y! Are you ignoring me?"

 _"_ _Not well enough since I can still hear your question."_ She complained to herself.

The man reached over the table and pulled her face up so that she was looking at him. "Someone of my prestige is talking to you, you should-"

However he was going to finish his declaration wasn't spoken because Yukiko punched across the table and then yanked him down by the collar of his shirt so hard that there was a loud crack when his face made contact with the table. _"_ _They really should use tables that aren't so narrow."_ The stray thought crossed her mind after the fact and just before she was grabbed and injected with something again, this time in her arm.

Unlike last time when she woke up after being tranquilized, the first thing that her mind picked up on was a hollow knocking sound that occurred at set intervals. Her head was once again full of haze and she felt dull. She sat up while rubbing her eyes and tried to take in her surroundings. She wasn't back in her room this time either. She was laying on a reddish-orange daybed in a well furnished room that was full of warm colors. In front of her was a coffee table were a metronome continuously counted out beats and behind that was a large chair that matched the daybed. She also heard the muffled voice of a man from the other side of a door behind her. "I don't think you should be alone with her Sato-sensei. The girl had barely been here for more than a full day and she's attacked three different people."

"This is a hospital and she deserves to be treated like the patient she is. If you were paying attention you would know that all of the people whom she hurt were men. In the two times I had already spoken to her she was obviously uncomfortable when in the presence of men."

 _"_ _This doctor is on observant one."_ Yukiko thought mildly impressed.

"I will be safe and she will definitely feel nothing but discomfort if you are standing over her. Besides, private sessions are that: private. Not private plus one. I will call if there is trouble." With her decision made Sato entered the room and seemed slightly surprised to see Yukiko sitting up and watching the door.

She quickly recovered though and plastered on a very nice smile but Yukiko already didn't believe it. "I'm sorry about that. You've made quite an impression on our staff you see."

Yukiko sighed and looked off to a distant corner.

"I was wondering. Would you mind telling me about your injuries now?"

She glanced at Sato and down at the metronome. Next to it sat a pen and pad of paper. She glared sharply at the doctor before looking back to the corner. No matter how much time passed Sato didn't speak again, she just waited for Yukiko to answer or not, making the room utterly silent with the exception of the beating metronome.

 _"_ _I don't want to talk to a stranger like you!"_

The sound of the metronome seemed to be getting louder with every beat.

 _"_ _If I was going to talk to anyone it would be Nui."_

The beats that came from on top of the table sounded like they were coming from inside her head.

 _"_ _What happened to me isn't any of your business!"_

Absolutely sick of the sound of the metronome, Yukiko threw the sole pillow that sat on the daybed and knocked the little device to the floor. There was finally silence in the room.

"Hmm." Sato hummed as if in interest and scribbled on a file in her hand. "I had been curious about something else as well…"

She growled silently at the woman. _"_ _Yet instead of asking you sat around and waiting for me to go mad from the goddamn metronome."_

Sato pulled out a familiar sheet of paper, the drawing she made when she got here; the hornets in a cemetery. Now that she thinks about it that picture is probably a field day for psychologists. "What inspired you to draw this?"

Yukiko stared into Sato's eyes and held her gaze. Surprisingly the older woman wasn't backing down. Yukiko decided to give the doctor an answer, even though she cannot give her the correct answer. Besides a little bit of cooperation might get her something in return, like freedom. **"** **I don't know. I just did it."**

Sato smiled at getting an answer of some kind. "The drawing is very good, you clearly have talent. Have you ever considered doing it professionally?"

The younger woman rolled her eyes. **"** **I already do. I paint for an open clientele back in Karakura. Before that I sold paintings on the street. But I've always painted."**

"Interesting…" Sato spoke again as she wrote.

Yukiko sat and waited for the next question, possibly willing to answer depending on its direction.

"I think this will be enough for today."

{"Huh?} She couldn't help the questioning word as her jaw dropped slightly, completely caught off guard.

"There's no need to rush after all. Those were the only questions I had prepared for today. Honestly we made more progress than I expected."

Yukiko continued to stare at her, mouth open and in utter confusion. _"_ _She seriously wasted our time with questions she didn't expect to get answered."_

"Was there anything you wanted to talk about?" She asked.

It took only a second for her to decide how to answer that. **"** **Next time you send a nurse for me, give her something for me to write with or make sure she knows sign language."**

Sato chuckled slightly. "I will take that into account."

 **"** **Also, I would like to send a letter to someone."**

The doctor seemed vaguely surprised but nodded. "I will have the necessary material for you tomorrow. For the rest of the day feel free to explore the hospital, but please try to remember: no one here will hurt you."

Yukiko frowned but left the room. There was an orderly waiting beside the door and she slightly leaned away from him. She was free to do as she pleases so first things first. Find emergency escape routes.

Day 8

It took a few days but Yukiko had managed to familiarize herself with the building and four separate routes through which she could escape the hospital at any moment. She hadn't been approached by many other patients in the past week and it certainly helped her nerves. Unfortunately that annoying man from her second day continuously pestered her but he never made the mistake of touching her since she bruised his face and apparently broke his nose on the table. Whatever it was that got the boring looking black haired and eyed man admitted to the hospital it included narcissism and/or grandeur thoughts. He was intolerable but she wasn't sure how the staff will react if she injured him again, especially since this time it would simply be out of annoyance.

She had spent the past week trying to stay out of trouble and nothing more. Perhaps if she is good they will let her go home. Every day she spends an hour and a half in Sato's office but there usually isn't much of any communication between the two. For the most part Sato asks questions then sits in silence while Yukiko refuses to answer, or Yukiko complains about Kukai's near constant presence outside the room, or says she wants to go home. Today's session started with a new question. "What will you do once you are released from the hospital?"

There was no reason to not answer this question. **"** **Go back to Karakura Town."**

"My I ask why?"

She groaned silently. **"** **Aren't you already?"**

"Then let me ask it this way. You sent a letter to someone in a different region so why is it so important to go back to Karakura Town?"

Yukiko was a bit confused by the question. **"** **It's where I live."**

"Yes but you haven't lived there long. Only a few months correct? You lack any relatives in that city and if your interactions here have been any indicator I would venture to say you also lack friends. Why are you so fixed on returning to Karakura?"

The insinuation that she had no friends might have hurt her feeling but it was true with one exception. **"** **I have a friend there."**

"Tell me about her."

She was reluctant but at the same time she wanted to talk about Grimmjow. She wanted to share that he's real and that they had a friendship, or at least a companionship. She wanted to have Grimmjow there. Or rather she wanted to be where he was. **"** **Grimmjow is a male."**

There was a glint to Sato's eyes as she read the message. "That's an odd way to say that. How do you feel when he is around? Perhaps you would like me to contact him and request that he come visit."

 _"_ _Uh-oh. That can cause problems if I can't come up with a good excuse why she won't be able get in touch with him."_ After a few moments of thinking she answered. Sato did already say her wording was a bit strange. **"** **Grimmjow is a cat."**

"You're friend is a cat?" The question seemed more to confirm that she read correctly than anything.

Yukiko nodded. **"** **Yes. I picked him up on a walk. He acts a bit feral sometimes but he warmed up lately."**

"I see…" She seemed to be thinking on the new information. "What is he like?"

 **"** **A bastard. He's selfish, thinks way too highly of himself, and he hates it when others touch him but will do things that are really adorable without knowing it and then attack people when they try to pet him. When he did finally become okay with me touching him he would get pissed if he started showing that he liked it by accident. He's also really stupid sometimes but other times really smart."** Yukiko ran out of room in the page to write so she tore it out and gave it to Sato to read while she continued on with a new page. **"** **He can also be thoughtful when he wants to be, but only if you don't point it out. He doesn't want to be thought of as a good-"**

 _"_ _Crap! A good what? Have I been describing him too much as a person? I have to finish what I was saying but how?"_

 **"** **\- cat. He seems to be really against being thought of becoming a lap cat."** The way she ended her description felt awkward. She wondered how angry Grimmjow would be at her repeatedly calling him a cat.

Yukiko watched Sato, slightly nervous about how the doctor would react to the words. As far as she's figured out the doctor was the one who gets final say as to when Yukiko leaves and she didn't want to give her anything else that she thinks need to be treated while there.

The older woman started laughing slightly as she read. "You seemed to be very close with the little creature."

Yukiko internally sighed in relief and nodded her head yes.

"Who is taking care of Grimmjow now that you are here though?"

 **"** **He can take care of himself. I'm just worried if I'm gone too long he will move on and forget about me."** She didn't realize that the concern of the man forgetting her was there but now that it was down and put into the world that thought felt crushing. Who's to say he didn't already forget about her? He's a Hollow. She doesn't really know how long Hollows live and kind of doubts anyone knows. She's pretty sure there's never been a Hollow to die of old age. They all get killed. Grimmjow is at least a couple hundred years old and who's to say he hasn't found something else to take up his attention and possibly endless amount of time.

Yukiko frowned sullenly and Sato reached out and grabbed her hand. "Would you like to finish here for today?"

Yukiko nodded yes and left the room, getting to take her paper and pen with her now. It was almost dinner time and she was starving so she decided that she'd go and wait in the cafeteria until it was time to serve food. The room was already filled with people, both patients and employees. It was a bit nerve wracking to be around so many people but she tried to get over it. She sat in an empty corner but was once again approached by the ever obnoxious Kukai. "Hey little Bunny!"

 **"** **That's not my name."** She wrote in thick bold lines to emphasize her disdain for his insistence at calling her Bunny.

"Don't be like that! A silent and scared little creature like you. You're totally named Bunny."

She slammed her fist on the table and glared at him. _"_ _Who said I'm scared!?"_ She yelled internally.

"But it's okay now Bunny. I'll protect you for the rest of the day, plus every day after that." He winked and gave a slight salute like gesture with two of his fingers.

 _"_ _But that leaves us with an important question. How long will it take before_ _ **I**_ _murder_ _ **you**_ _?"_ Being around this man is enough to drive her into a mental state where she would then agree to needing to be locking in a crazy house.

The man leaned in a little closer; Yukiko leaned just as further away, and then he whispered to her. "Did you know that they drug us here?"

The woman rolled her eyes and wrote her response. **"** **Obviously. The medicine is on the tray with the food."**

"No, no. I mean in the actual food! They give us drugs to make us think that we are crazy when there's actually nothing wrong with us. When I found out what was happening in my hospital I was appalled but the board overruled me on the matter. They said we get more funding the more patients we have."

Yukiko almost laughed at the man. He was so delusional that it was a little funny to her. _"_ _Crazy people can be a bit entertaining."_

"This is no laughing matter! They want us here forever!" He slammed on the table as he yelled.

He leaned in again and grabbed her shoulders. "Just look at you! There's nothing wrong with you and yet you're still locked up here!"

As he continued to yell Yukiko was screaming in her head. _"_ _Don't hurt him. Don't hurt him. Don't hurt him. Don't hurt him!"_

Kukai shook her a bit and got even more in her face. "YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT!"

Just as Yukiko raised her fist to punch the man away he was yanked off of her and being pulled away by a large bouncer looking man of an orderly. "BUNNY! YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT!"

 _"_ _Well, his crazy went past entertaining and into just uncomfortable."_ She shook her fisted hand vigorously to try and relax it.

The food was starting to be served so she watched the line until she saw a girl coming up behind another woman and quickly slid into the line between them. She didn't like that her impulse to stay away from men persisted but she was planning on working on it. _"_ _Maybe… If I feel like it…"_

She took her food, medication, was denied when requested more food be add to the plate, sat back down and ate. She still felt tired and hungry but she could help one of those so she went to bed early that night.

Day 12

Yukiko had spent the entirety of her time between breakfast and lunch napping. She was constantly bored and hungry in the hospital so it's not like she had anything better to do. She had used her notepad as a replacement sketchbook but filled it within a period of two days and it greatly irritated the nurse when she asked for a replacement so she decided it might be best to keep the paper use to a minimum. Besides she might need it for when a vision forces her to draw. That left her with only exploring and napping as methods for passing the time. Well, she could read some of the books in the small bookshelf but not a single one seemed interesting to her and attempting to read them might make the days take longer.

Nope, she'll stick to napping. While she ate her lunch something out of the ordinary happened. "Ametsuchi-san?" It was some woman she didn't recognize.

Yukiko nodded yes in response.

"Would you please follow me? You have a visitor."

The news worried her. Who would visit her? Nui? She hoped not. Nui had too much on her plate to waste time visiting her.

The woman, whom Yukiko assumes is a receptionist of some kind, led her to a room that was closed off to the patients. It was a large and open with tables and couches scattered about with a few patients here and there that were speaking to people wearing regular clothes, visitors. The only person who sat alone was a man who was reading pages at one of the tables. Yukiko realized he was there for her when she recognized him. It was Officer Hatsu, one of the men who arrested her. She had the intense desire to punch him. She didn't, but she dearly wanted too. Maybe if it was the other officer she would have but this man was at least decent to her at the clinic.

She took a deep breath and approached him. "Ametsuchi-san!" He almost seemed surprised to see her and shot out of his seat, toppling the chair to the floor.

"I don't know if you remember me. I'm Officer Hatsu. I was…" He stuttered off, not willing to finish the sentence.

Yukiko frowned at him and wrote. **"** **Go on, say it. You were the one who arrested me."**

He swallowed and grimaced at the words. He obviously figured out the mistake that was made and didn't want say it, but she wasn't going to let him move the meeting forward until he did and she crossed her arms to show it.

"I was the one who arrested you."

With the words said she sat down and wrote again. **"** **What are you doing here?"**

Hatsu picked his chair off the floor and sat in it. "I just wanted to talk."

She narrowed her eyes. **"** **You came a long way for a 'talk'."**

He tangled and untangled his fingers repeatedly, clearly nervous. "…After you were picked up from the station we had visitor."

She crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair as she listened.

"A man, sort of…" He didn't just look nervous. He looked traumatized.

"I know it might sound crazy but I think he was a guardian spirit of some kind. He was angry and looking for you."

Now this had Yukiko's full attention. _"_ _An angry spirit looking for me?"_

She smiled to him and wrote. **"** **If I had to guess, that would be Grimmjow."**

"He… He said something… Well, called Shimata something…"

The name was enough to flood Yukiko with disgust and shame. She wasn't even sure why she felt shame. There was no rational reason for it but somehow the memory of what happened brought it on.

"I looked into him. I spoke to other women he was to be taking care of. It turns out, you weren't the only one."

She looked at Hatsu with large questioning eyes.

"At first none of the other women wanted to admit it, even though they were clearly distressed by the topic, but eventually one did open up. She told me how he had been making inappropriate gestures and such then one day he attacked her in her home."

The telling of that event happing, to another girl on top of that, brought guilt to Yukiko's eyes. Hatsu must have noticed because he left it at that. "I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know, that you aren't alone in this. None of this is your fault."

Yukiko looked away. She didn't feel guilty for what happened. She felt guilty because she was saved. She was protected; the other women were clearly not.

"I also came to tell you something else…"

She took a few deep breaths before looking at him again. What other horrible topic could he possibly bring up?

"Less than twenty minutes after, um Grimmjow, visited me, Shimata passed away."

Yukiko stopped breathing now.

"I think Grimmjow killed him. Shimata was sleeping in a hospital bed when he was struck with enough blunt force to break his neck and shatter his skull. At nearly the same time a hole was created in the building's wall, like someone took a wrecking ball to it from the inside."

Yukiko started breathing again and she was smiling. Shimata was dead. Grimmjow had killed him. Yukiko was smiling and the more time the information had to burn into her mind the wider her smile became.

Her reaction seemed to terrify Hatsu. "Ametsuchi-san. This guardian spirit of yours is clearly incredibly dangerous and wild. Because of him, someone, a human, is dead. That spirit acted too fast and took away our power to bring Shimata to justice. Please for your own safety, stay away from evil beings like that."

His words made her rock with laughter. Maybe she did belong in a mental hospital.

When she was finally calm enough, she wrote to him. **"** **You are mistaken about something. There is no such thing as a guardian spirit. There are souls that need to move on, monsters that are what they become if they don't and souls that deal with both of those types. But also, and more importantly, why shouldn't I be happy that Shimata is dead? Bring him to justice? The only judgment the matters is the one that comes after death."**

Her words seemed to disturb him even more. "He wasn't a good man but that doesn't give others the right to just kill him!"

 **"** **You want me to feel sorry for the death of someone who had it coming. In your opinion Grimmjow is evil, in mine he is someone who didn't pussyfoot around what needed to be done. Not everyone deserves to live and honestly it is people like you that make things a lot more difficult than they need to be. Believing that no matter how horrible someone is you shouldn't kill them because that would make you a person who is just as bad or worse is utter bullshit. There is nothing wrong with necessary deaths."**

She had never seen someone become so pale from reading anything. "You shouldn't think like that! There is no such thing as a necessary death."

 **"** **You're a new officer right? You look fresh out of school. Ask that other guy who was with you if he feels the same way. If the callous way he was behaving that night indicates anything it's that he's been dealing with scum that dress like human beings for a long time."**

Yukiko could tell when he finished reading because the moment he did he slapped her across the face. She might have hit him back, the urge was certainly there but she was feeling far too cold at the moment to fall into her fight or flight response. "You're wrong and you deserve to be in here. Humans are good! Humanity is worth having faith in."

There was staff grabbing his arms and pulling him away but before they got out of reach she grabbed his shirt and tugged back to his seat while shooing them away. He didn't sit down but that was unimportant, she only had one last thing to say. **"** **Then why did you hit me? If humans are such good creatures then why is our response to something we dislike or fear always violence?"**

He read her words and it looked like something in him shattered. With the least amount of emotion he had show this entire meeting he spoke one final time. "Goodbye Ametsuchi Yukiko."

She felt satisfied as he turned and left. Satisfied and also disturbed. When had she returned to being so cynical against humanity? Did she actually hate humans now? Hadn't she always, just with some exceptions? No… She had grown to like humans since escaping her birth place. _"_ _Maybe with everything that's been happening my mind just needs to reset itself. Cycle through all the feelings then it'll be back to how it was before Shimata."_ Yukiko clung to that hope with the dark realization that Hatsu was right. She did, without a doubt, deserve to be in that place.

Day 19

What happened with Hatsu wasn't good but it did confirm a dear hope she held. Grimmjow got is body back, and he had been looking for her; rather aggressively at that. She wanted to get in touch with him so she decided she'd write him a letter, obviously, but couldn't settle on what to write. She was an artist in imagery not word. Trying to make a final decision on what to write was becoming a horrible conundrum that enveloped her every second. It even distracted her from Kukai's annoying personality as well as her habit regarding the cafeteria line. It wasn't until a full week of thinking of what to write him passed that she even found out that she almost behaved like a normal person; she almost behaved like she had before. The only thing it failed to distract her from was the effects of not eating enough.

It was Sato that pointed it out to her. Their daily session was early in the morning, taking the place of breakfast with the promise of eating during instead, the doctor ventured bringing the matter to Yukiko's attention. "I am curious. What is it you have been focused on lately?"

 **"** **What do you mean?"**

Sato smiled. "You've been very distracted since getting a visit from the officer. I was afraid that because of how it ended you would regression into yourself and become hyper aggressive like you were when you first arrived but it seems to have left you singularly focused at all times. I want to know what you are focused about."

Yukiko flushed red. She didn't know that she was that obvious but worse she couldn't say that she was thinking about what to write Grimmjow since she already said that he was just a cat. She scrambled for something to tell the woman. **"** **I'm trying to figure out what to write. I want to send a letter to someone but I don't know what to say. I'm not good with words."**

"But you are good with pictures." The comment pulled her attention. Sato held up a picture of a horse finding a paper.

It was a vision that Yukiko had the moment she decided to write a letter. In the actual vision the horse is blue like the sky and her mane in a rainbow of colors. It was a few too many colors for one creature in her opinion but at least she was without colors at the moment she had to simply shade at a variety of depths to indicate them. The horse was in a desert under a very luminescent moon, telling Yukiko it was actually a Hollow, and a very powerful one seeing as how she saw it as an individual rather than a skeleton. It was likely an Arrancar and it left her with the impression that if she wrote her letter and sent it too Hueco Mundo an Arrancar would find it. Grimmjow said that a lot of Hollows were coming and going from Las Noches, hopefully this one will too. As a bit of encouragement for it to do so, Yukiko wrote a letter for Harribel and plans to get it to the Hollows' world together with the one that she actually cares about.

 **"** **Pictures are easy for me."** She responded to the doctor.

"So, for the things you want to say in the letter but don't know how, put it into a picture. Draw the feelings you want to convey instead of trying to do something you aren't good at."

Yukiko stared at her with her wide eyes and a slack jaw.

"What is it?"

 **"** **That's the first bit of good advice you've given me."**

Sato looked hurt. "Only the first?"

The girl had already stopped listening. She had started penning away on a blank page. After a few lines were complete a hand covered hers so she looked up to glare at Sato but the woman and smiling and holding up envelopes of various sizes, pack of blank lineless paper, and pencils. "Would you like to use these instead?"

For perhaps the first time in all of these meetings Yukiko genuinely smiled at the doctor. She nodded her head and signed. *Yes please.*

The pages were relinquished and the younger woman immediately returned to her room before she tore into them and got to work, for the first time she forgot about the gnawing hunger in her stomach and general fatigue in her body.

Yukiko wasn't sure what she was drawing or what she wanted to convey to Grimmjow. All she knew was that she felt safe and at peace when they were together. She was happy when they were together. Maybe that was all she needed to convey. Her hand seemed to think so as it was well into drawing her a portrait of herself. She remembered the night when she only felt good things. When she and Grimmjow were at the festival and it felt like they were together in a way they hadn't been before. That night was the happiest she had in longer than she could remember, possibly in her whole life. It only felt like that because he was with her and she saw, knew, that he was happy that night too. He enjoyed being there with her, he enjoyed seeing the lights and temple and fireworks. It may have just been through her eyes but he seemed more at peace and content that night than he had the rest of their time together as well.

It took some time but at least that's all she had in that place. When she finished the picture she was pleased. Looking at it, looking at their expressions filled her with a sense of content and peace that she was lacking with him gone. It made her laugh a little. Grimmjow had once told her how all of Arrancar that were numbered ten and lower were supposed to represent an aspect of death and dying and that his was destruction. It felt like a sick irony to her that the face of destruction itself was the source of her peace but if she gave peace to that destruction as well… _"_ _Maybe that thought is just a little too bold to believe."_

Whether it was or not she wanted to go through with her plan to send the picture but she realized that it was a bit unfair of her to just send a drawing and hope that he knows how she's feeling. So she tried once again to put her feelings into words. It could be short since she had the picture but it still had to have words. She lay on her stomach on the floor, pencil sitting on the page but nothing being written. She doesn't understand. She has no problems knowing what she wants to say when face to face but writing something to be read later felt impossible. {"Face to face… If he was here right now to see me struggle I wonder what he would say."}

She could just see it. Back in her apartment, sitting on the floor under the window, watching the black cat sort through a pile of cards with various kanji to create a message. **_"What's your problem?"_**

{"I don't know how to say how I feel."} She told the imaginary Grimmjow.

 ** _"_** ** _It's not all about you! I finally got my body back remember?!"_** The cat in her mind looked irritated at her selfish thoughts.

She laughed at him even though he wasn't there. {"You're right. How does it feel to have your body back?"}

The vision of the back cat was replaced by the transparent vision of the man she saw at the festival but he still used the cards. He frowned, irritated with her. **_"Don't ask it! Write it!"_**

She jumped a little at the forcefulness she felt from her imagination and wrote her question, even ventured to tell him that she thinks he must feel better. The thought of the lifeless image of the man wasn't leaving her mind and she wanted it to. It may be his real face but she didn't really know it. There was no life to it, it was just a projection. She muttered to herself and wrote. {"I miss having a cat Grimmjow now. I just wish I could meet him properly already. Then I wouldn't have to settle between a cat and a bad image of his real face."} She huffed at the choices. {"We'll definitely meet properly. Definitely. Definitely. Definitely…"} Yukiko couldn't continue her silent words due to a hitch in her breath. Her steady artist hand trembled and she pulled it away. She sat up on her knees and rubbed her eyes. The more she wiped her eyes the heavier and faster her tears fell. She backed further away from the pages on the floor to distance her tears from them. She didn't want him to know she's crying, didn't want her tears to stain the letter or picture.

Someone knocked on her door and opened it, the nurse stuck her head in. "Ametsuchi-san, lunch is ready."

It seemed to take her an extra second to realize the girl was crying. "Are you okay?!"

Yukiko wiped her eyes again and tried to get the woman away from her. *I'm fine. I will be there in a moment.*

She wiped her eyes one more time and smacked her cheeks to try and get herself together. The young woman collected her letters and picture and took all of it with her, perhaps if she's around other people she'll be able to keep it together better.

She followed the routine of joining the line, getting her food and sitting down at an empty corner. She didn't see Kukai and hoped he had done something to get himself in trouble so he won't be able to bother her. She ate all of her food as fast as she could and resumed her endeavor. She felt a little less stuck after crying but she also didn't have much left to express so she wrote that she hoped that he wanted to meet her too and that he was taking care of himself until then. With everything complete she placed the letters and pictures into their own respective envelopes and wrote the names of their intended recipient. She had a couple of ideas as to how she's going to get them to Hueco Mundo but both will take time so she would have to wait to send them off. She got up to return to her room to nap, she felt a little better after eating but was still fatigued and hungry.

Yukiko didn't even make it out of the cafeteria before being stopped by the receptionist woman from a week ago. "Ametsuchi-san, you have a visitor."

Yukiko frowned in unhappiness at the perspective of interacting with Hatsu again. The woman saw it and reassured her. "It is a woman this time."

The surprise was quick to come to and leave her face, feeling a difficult mixture of excitement and concern. She rushed side by side with the woman to the visitor room. Inside there was familiar woman with long legs, sleek black hair that fell to her hips much like how her own used to, and gray eyes. The woman looked like a model in her tight tan dress and multiple bracelets and rings but the most prominent decoration on her was her necklace with a large orb like bluish purple jewel. "My Yukiko-chan! Look at you, all of your hair is gone."

Yukiko wanted to frown from the comment but was too happy at seeing Nui to pull it off. {"Please don't bring that up."} She sat down and shook her head to try and shake the rational thought back in. {"More importantly, why are you here?! I sent you a message."}

"Yes and I got it. For something as large scale as what you saw Rin will be too busy to even look for us." She paused to sit and look around at the staff stationed to watch over the room then leaned in close and spoke in a whisper. "I'm getting you out of here tonight. I already have a new identity set up for you. We'll be on the other side of Japan by the time anyone here knows you're missing."

Leaving the hospital was what she had been wanting since the day she was brought there but something stopped her from immediately agreeing. {"If I escape I won't be able to go back to my life."}

Nui looked at her blankly. "What are you talking about? Your life? Your life is not getting caught by Rin or her followers."

Yukiko clenched her hands in her lap, where her letters sat, but looked away in guilt at what she was going to say. {"I want to continue living in Karakura Town."}

"That is not safe and you know it. I told you to run the moment you were caught and placed in to the government system but you didn't and look where you are. Listen to what I'm telling you now. Run away with me, tonight. I've already scouted the building with flash steps and I've found three routes you can use to escape the building. After that I'll take you out of the city and we'll start over like we used to."

The younger girl wasn't going to accept this. {"There are four escape routes out of the hospital and I'm not going to use any of them. I am staying until they release me and I'm going back to Karakura."}

"You aren't thinking clearly. You can take your time coping with what happened but not here. You'll do it with me where it's safe."

Yukiko looked back at the woman with strong sharp eyes and her expression relied nothing but strength. Her extremely limited riatsu began to make itself known around her. {"I will not. I will stay here and then I will return to Karakura where I am happy. If you are so concerned with Rin then stay clear of me. She will accomplish little with me alone so don't endanger everything we have sacrificed because _you_ are too concerned with what might happen. Am I clear?"}

Nui visibly faltered in her thoughts. It took her a moment to bring herself to speak but when she did she was noticeably less haughty and bowed her head slightly. "I understand, Yukiko-sama."

Yukiko calmed herself and took a deep breath to try and hide the fact that she had exhausted herself with that slight display and was on the verge of panting.

"I will be leaving then."

The younger girl caught her hand quickly to stop her and held up the envelopes from her lap. {"I need you to send these to Hueco Mundo."}

The black haired woman took them and looked with curiosity. "Hueco Mundo? Why?"

{"They're a warning for the Hollow king and a message to someone I know there."}

Nui looked more confused than ever. "You know someone in the Hollow's world?"

Yukiko stuttered slightly and kind of doubted that Nui could understand her. {"So?"}

"Very well, I'll open a doorway once I leave. But is it really okay to just send them there?"

The copper haired girl nodded yes.

"Yukiko-sama I'll continue to send letters to your apartment according to the regular schedule. I'll be waiting for your reply."

Yukiko looked at her and saw that her old caretaker was smiling gently. It made her smile too. She wasn't sure when they'd see each other again and couldn't help getting back up to hug the older woman tightly. When they separated Nui held her face in her hands as she took another good look at Yukiko. "I know you tired yourself out. Please take care."

{"I'll try."} She promised.

Yukiko knew it was hard for Nui to release her and leave the room but she was proud of her for doing it. She watched as the taller woman walked through the door and was out of sight for who knows how long.

 _"_ _Okay, time for my nap."_

Day 34

Yukiko sat on a hospital bed, feeling half asleep. The doctor, this one being an actual physician rather than a psychologist, listened to her heart and breathing and she did her best to not fall asleep where she sat. She was being examined because the nurses noticed that she was asleep more than she was awake these past few days and, more alarming, a visible loss of weight.

She had been telling them from day one that she needed more food but they always ignored her request and this was the result. Yukiko hated to admit it but this was the farthest her condition had ever fallen. She had reached the point of only being able keep herself awake long enough to eat a meal before falling asleep again. The doctor was incredibly concerned because she had lost fifteen pounds yet he couldn't find anything physically wrong with her and he had no clue how to treat her. His current solution for her condition was to inject her with depressants so that her metabolism wouldn't burn through her energy too quickly while the kitchen prepared a high calorie and protein heavy meal for her to eat. Apparently they were finally willing to listen to her when she tells them that she _NEEDS_ more food.

"Ametsuchi-san it won't be much longer now. I'm sorry we allowed your condition to deteriorate like this. When you were initially examined we ran blood work on you as well as a physical exam and there was no sign of medical conditions."

She wasn't listening. She was just waiting until the smell of hot food entered the room. She lifted her head slightly and saw a large plate of spaghetti with a bunch of bite sized cuts of meat sitting on top of it. It wasn't really a meal that went together but it will serve its purpose. It was a slow process but she ate the plate of food and promptly fell asleep.

Day 39

It had only been a few days of her new diet but she already had much more energy. Yukiko was no longer in danger of falling asleep while walking and had resumed her temporary suspended sessions with Sato. The woman had grown to truly worry over her and was genuinely relieved when Yukiko was able to return to her office. "Yukiko-chan, how are you feeling?"

*Better, thank you.* She signed.

"That's a relief. Please understand no one wanted you to become sick. There are often patients that wish for more food or sleep often but it never amounts to an actual problem."

*It is fine. I promise. I just need to keep eating and regain the weight.* Yukiko tried to reassure the doctor.

Sato smiled and laughed slightly. "You are a true oddity. Most people are very formal and polite to someone when they are not familiar with them and become less so the more comfortable they become with that person. You are the opposite. When we first met you had no qualms about cursing or being rude in general but now _you_ are reassuring _me_."

Yukiko fidgeted a little in her seat. *I can't help it. When I'm annoyed I'll be rude. I have more patience for people the longer I know them.*

"I understand. If you feel more comfortable with me then would you perhaps be willing to finally share what happened the night you were arrested?"

Yukiko didn't quite know the sign language to properly answer so she returned to writing. **"Why bother? The police already spoke to you didn't they? You don't need me to tell you what happened."**

"You are correct. I do know what happened but I am not the important one here. I want you to say it for yourself."

She was taken back the reasoning. Tell what happened for herself more than anyone else? _"Maybe… Maybe I should. She'll accept what I have to share since she already knows it to be true. Maybe just this once, I can tell someone."_

Day 49

Yukiko sat excitedly in Sato's office. The doctor was on the phone speaking to Matoi Jun, Yukiko's building manager.

"Yes, yes. She is ready to come home. She'll be returning tomorrow." The woman listened for a few moments then spoke to Yukiko. "He said he's very excited."

The girl held up her paper with a message to rely to the man. **"Would it be possible for me to live in a different room?"**

Sato nodded in agreement of the request. "Yukiko-san was hoping she would be able to move into another room in your building."

After a moment of listening the woman nodded with a smile making Yukiko sigh in relief.

"He said he'll have all of your belongings moved into your new room by tomorrow."

The girl was very thankful for him for offering to have all of that work taken care of before she even got there. She quickly ran through everything she remembers in her apartment and wrote a couple of notes for him to know. **"I left a charm on my table that's actually really important. Is it possible for him to make sure that is put back on the table in my new room?"**

The message was relayed and Sato responded back to Yukiko. "He said it was missing by the time a construction worker went there to repair the window. He said a friend of yours was seen going into your room the day after you left."

 _"_ _A friend? Grimmjow?"_ She thought with hope. The charm was his after all. _"OH! I almost forgot!"_ She quickly scribbled on the paper again. **"In my refrigerator there is a milk carton. That needs to be taken too. I keep money in there."**

"…Really?" Sato asked before saying anything else. Yukiko shrugged off the weird look and nodded. "He said that's weird but he will see to it."

*Thank you!* She signed to not waste the paper.

"Do you have any other concerns?" She asked.

Yukiko shook her head no and Sato resumed speaking to Jun. "She doesn't have anything else that she is worried about. Yukiko-chan is very excited to be returning home." She waited and listened to the man. "Yes. Thank you for your kindness. It was a pleasure speaking to you."

She hung up the phone and looked at Yukiko. "Are you ready for your last night here?"

Yukiko nodded with a large smile. _"YES!"_

Day 50

It was a long day of traveling from Shikoku and she was exhausted but too excited to let it get to her. She was in walking distance from home and couldn't contain herself. Yukiko practically ran back to the apartment in the dark where waiting for her at its entrance was the manager and his wife. "Ametsuchi-san! Welcome home!" The woman called when she approached them and was embraced in a hug.

"It's wonderful to have you back Ametsuchi-san." Jun told her.

Yukiko pulled out her little pad and wrote for them. **"It's so good to be back. I can't thank you enough for letting return."**

"It's the least we can do for you." The woman told her.

"I've already prepared your new room. Please follow us, I'm sure you're ready to get some rest."

She nodded in agreement. Yukiko definitely wanted to turn in for the night but her happiness was making it hard for her to actually feel the tiredness. When they reached her new room, Unit 10, she was pleasantly surprised to see that both the name plates had been moved. Hers and Grimmjow's names sat in their new home. Jun held out her new key and she took it to unlock her new home. It looked almost the exact same as her old one but was a mirror of it as it was on the opposite side of the building. Her futon, table, dresser, art supplies and paintings were all arranged just as she previously kept it but something felt a little off. She took a few steps in to look around before finding what was missing.

Yukiko took strong, confident strides across the room and opened her window above the futon. _"I'm home Grimmjow. Now hurry up and come. The window is open, just how we like it."_

* * *

 **Yay Comments! (´** **｡** **•** **ω** **•** **｡** **`) :**

 **Savage Kill: I'm sorry it took so long, I was busy with holiday stuff. Now you know why the room was empty. She just moved. Nothing horrible. I'm glad you like the story :)**

 **Silent Songstress Sorceress: They're having a hard time but the separation a about over.**

 **Mrs. Swordslover: First things first: never feel like you need to apologize for critiquing my story. Having the story criticized is a huge part of sharing it. I don't want to get focused on side characters myself but they are necessary for advancing plot and character growth so I hope you trust that I won't create characters that aren't needed for something. Achiim will be around for a while but he's going to be coming and going so don't be too concerned about him or Grimmjow's position as his "teacher" if you can even call him that (he barely did anything except tell the kid what to do).**

 **Ookawa: Welcome to the story. I hope you continue to enjoy where it goes :)**

 **Libra89: The chapter was a bit delayed because of the holidays but here it is.**

 **Guest: I hope you came this far and enjoyed the story along the way.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Quick warning: there's a very inappropriate joke made by Grimmjow (because who else would) in this chapter**

* * *

 **Chapter 16**

Grimmjow left Yukiko's room and had looked around the apartment until he found the old manager with his wife. "You! Where the fuck is Yukiko's stuff?"

"When do you think we will be able to rent out the room?" The woman was asking her husband.

"We will have to replace the tatami but other than that there is no more work to be done. We should be able to advertise it in a few days." He answered. Neither of them could hear Grimmjow.

"I need a gigai." He growled to himself.

The Arrancar wasted no time in exiting the building and started racing to Urahara's shop but didn't get very far. Ichigo's Reiatsu spiked as it usually did at a sign of the Hollow's presence and he was quick as always to intercept. "Grimmjow, what are you doing here?"

"Doesn't matter. Get out of the way, I'm in a rush."

"Considering what happened last time you were here it does matter. What are you doing?" The boy was adamant about not just letting him go.

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at Ichigo and coiled his muscles slightly, ready to fight the boy to get him out of his way if needed. It never reached that point though.

Not far enough from them a Garganta opened and Nelliel approached them.

"Ichigo-kun, you're here?!" The woman spoke in an obnoxiously happy voice.

"Good timing Nelliel. You keep him busy and I'll leave."

The male Arrancar started to step around them but the woman spoke up in her more serious voice. "Unfortunately I'm here to bring you back to Hueco Mundo with me."

Grimmjow clicked his tongue. "I'll go back later; and I might even do it without killing anyone. Happy?"

"Might?" Ichigo questioned.

"Your plans here are unimportant. Tier-san has a task that she wants us to take care of."

"Fuck that. Harribel has no authority over me." He crossed his arms in defiance.

"Until you are actually able to kill her and take her throne she does have authority over you." Nel calmly argued back.

"Who says I can't kill her already. If the boring bitch would just fight me then I would've been king for a while now."

The green haired woman opened a Garganta behind her and stepped through. "We can continue this later for now we must go. Unless you want to explain in detail what is so important in this world that you come every day…"

He did think about it, for a quarter of a second at most. _"_ _There's no way in hell I'm telling her about Yukiko."_ So the man grumbled to himself as he followed through the doorway. On the other side they were in the Hueco Mundo desert rather than Las Noches.

"What, you can't aim your Gargantas?" He sneered.

"I never said I was taking us back home, I merely said we were going back to Hueco Mundo."

Grimmjow could already tell that this was going to be an annoying job just by the looks of where in the endless desert they were. The withered and twisted tree to his right meant they were about four kilometers from the entrance to the underground Menos Forest. Not that it would be that far away for long. As soon as the pair got their bearings they darted off. "I swear if you brought me with you for a recruitment run I'm going to kill the first Arrancar we come across."

The woman sighed as if tired of him already and they had only just begun their journey to the petrified forest. "I'll remember that and no that's not why we're here. I noticed the Menos acting strange here a few days ago, Tier-san wanted me to bring someone along so I won't be alone."

"Why is that someone me? I don't give a shit about other Hollows."

"You have not been right since returning after your prolonged trip to the World of the Living. I thought you'd revel in the chance to get away from Las Noches for a day or so."

"A few days in this dead place with you? That's not my idea a good time." He decided that he'll open a Garganta of his own as soon as she looks away and be back on track for figuring out why the apartment was cleaned out.

"Why are you always going to the human's world?" She was as straight-forward as always when she asked.

"I came with you so you _won't_ bother me with your questions, not so you can ask all you want." Grimmjow growled out, moving past her in into the approaching tree line.

"Just for one conversation, I wish you'd be open…" He heard Nel grumble to herself but refused to acknowledge it otherwise.

"What are you looking for?" He asked. The faster they finished the faster she'd leave him alone.

"The Menos; Grande and Adjunchas, both have be acting out." She answered.

"If by acting out you mean disappeared then I know. I brought the kid here a few days ago and it took forever to find a Gillian for him to fight. Though it's completely empty now." There was no sign of a Hollow at all. Even if they only entered the outer forest they should be able to at least hear the unintelligent cries of the hundreds upon hundreds of Gillian that could be in there and usually Adjunchas liked to stake claim to the edges of the trees since it there was a greater chance of catching roaming Hollows that way. But other than the two Arrancar the above ground portion of the Menos Forest was completely devoid of even sound.

Nel paused for a moment and looked around them. "We will simply travel inside."

"Fine, you better move fast if you don't want to be left behind." Grimmjow took off with his sonido and continued further through the white, stone like trees and completely disregarded whether or not Nel was keeping up. He hoped she wasn't, that way he could just leave. _"_ _But what's to stop her from following?"_ The part of his brain that was more or less devoted to battle strategy pointed out the flaw in just ditching the woman. The obvious solution for that problem was to simply not care if Nel found out he was returning to the World of the Living daily to look for a human. He didn't have to explain himself to anyone and even if he did he wouldn't. But what about explaining it to himself? He couldn't deny that seeing her again had become something of an obsession for him but he wasn't entirely sure why it was so important. Normally he couldn't be bothered to worry about the reasons behind his actions, he just did what he wanted, but this was the first time his obsessive behavior has been focused in a less than violent manner and it was, for lack of a better word: disturbing. She held so much power over him just by being absent. _"_ _It has to just be because of how we separated. Once I see that she is actually okay I can move on with my life and if I feel like it, never see her again. Right? Right?!"_

"If you keep thinking that hard your head might burst into flames." Nel spoke up from beside him and pulled him from further thought on the subject.

"Are you looking for Menos or are you looking at me?" He challenged to try and push her focus off of him.

"I can do both. Besides, I haven't heard a thing. Have you or could you not even say because _you_ were too distracted?" She sounded like she was enjoying herself for some reason.

"I'm paying attention just fine! Just be thankful I'm still here."

"I take it that means you intend to escape back to the human's world the first chance you get." She looked at him suspiciously.

"I wouldn't call it escaping but yeah."

She looked at him like she was studying something about him but remained silent. She didn't speak to him again, nor did he try and start a conversation with her. They remained in silence for hours, the only sound that could be heard for miles was their footsteps as they echoed against the quartz pillar like trees and ceiling. They had made it deep into the cave-forest now, a deep expanse of dark and lifeless space with only little streams of light filtering through from the desert night sky above.

"Let's stop for now." Nel broke the silence.

"Why? The faster we find the Menos the faster we can leave."

She had already slowed to a walk. "We should rest in case we come across an unhappy Adjunchas."

Grimmjow rolled his eyes now. He didn't need to stop. "Fine. You sit on your ass and I'll get going without you."

Nel stopped completely now and sat against a tree. "Just sit down and relax. I know you're good at that."

Grimmjow wanted to continue on but he also realized that it was probably the middle of the night by now and he had been on his feet most of the day. A few minutes to sit down wouldn't be the worst thing to do. He sat against the same tree but they were still more than an arm's length apart.

While they finally saw some movement from the forest unfortunately it was just a Hollow worm, digging in and out. "I wonder where all of the Hollows have gone." Nel asked, not that Grimmjow would know the answer.

"Why does it even matter? This place will be full of Hollows again in a month. Humans are good at being resentful like that." Grimmjow honestly didn't understand the alarm.

"The concern is that Tier-san was warned that some force was going to attack Hueco Mundo again and now it seems that a large part of its population has vanished." She said firmly.

"That's what the letter was about? That's boring."

"What was in your letter?" She sounded like a little girl asking something private.

"None of your damn business."

She huffed a sigh and he suspected that she was frowning. "Will you at least answer me something else?"

"Depends on the question."

"Why haven't you been trying to sleep with me since you got back?" She sounded legitimately sour about it.

Grimmjow smirked at her. "So that's what you are upset about? That I haven't fucked you in a couple months?"

It honestly hadn't crossed his mind once since returning to Hueco Mundo but they had been sleeping with each other since the Quincy War. When it started it was a matter of him bringing it up as something to do to pass time and relieve stress and she agreed surprisingly easily. After the first time she said it was a once off but that didn't stop them from repeating it periodically for the next half a year. It worked perfectly fine for him since he got to have his fun and she was apparently getting whatever it was she had been hoping for from the "relationship" so all had been good; until now anyways. He didn't expect her to have complaints when their fucking ended, but apparently she does.

"Don't misunderstand me. I'm just concerned about your sudden change." She frowned but was also blushing.

"Look if you're that desperate for a prick then ask the kid. I'm sure he'd give you anything you wanted."

She looked absolutely appalled. "I know you are joking but please refrain from such tasteless words. It's sickening."

He slouched a bit and made himself more comfortable with a chuckle.

She got up and into his face. "I'm serious Grimmjow."

He groaned a bit. "Fine, fine. No more kid fucking jokes."

She straightened now but still stood in front of him. "Good but I meant about being worried about your sudden change."

He closed his eyes and turned to his side. "What? A guy can't just feel like not having sex? And I don't get what you're complaining about. Now you can fawn and fantasize over 'Her Majesty' all you want." He made sure to make the last comment as taunting as possible. It was no secret that Nel was lusting after Harribel, at least not in his opinion.

"Tier-san has nothing to do with this and considering your appetite's track record, suddenly wanting to go celibate is not something you would do just because." The female Arrancar tried to maintain her composure but was definitely nervous about his words.

"Right, because we fucked for a little while you suddenly know me and everything I'm thinking."

She looked a little sad. "That's not it. We're Hollows, we don't change so suddenly like that unless it is a class evolution."

He couldn't quite argue with that. Hollows are stagnant and slow changing beings by nature.

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "There's a human woman you panting after, isn't there?"

The sudden and possibly accurate guess made him sit up straight. "What!? Why you think that?"

"Oh… I am right. I have to say, I never expected you to take a liking to a human."

"I haven't!" He argued.

"It's Orihime isn't it? Or perhaps you just want her because she and Ichigo are together now. No wait, she wouldn't lie about if she saw you when I asked. It must be someone I haven't met." The green haired woman speculated.

"You're wrong because I do NOT get interested in others!"

She smiled smugly at him, just letting his denial sit in the air rather than continue speaking. He growled savagely at her and laid back completely into a reclined position. "I'm taking a nap. Wake me up is something happens."

It wasn't easy to fall asleep with Nelliel exuding smugness the way she now was but Grimmjow did manage to nap. He could have sworn he dreamt something but didn't really remember what it was. All he did know was that he woke up feeling frustrated, even before he remembered the annoying situation he was currently in.

When he stood he noticed Nel was asleep against the tree. Now was the time to get back to the World of the Living. Or at least it would have been if he didn't get the feeling of eyes on him. "Nelliel, get up." He called to her while kicking her a little to get the woman's attention.

She lifted her head with a frown. "I let you sleep. You should-" Whatever she was about to say was cut short as they both used sonido to avoid a sudden attack. Arrows had been fired at the pair of Arrancar and were now stuck in the quartz tree. Grimmjow wasted no time in pursuing the soon to be dead dumbass that thought he could be taken by surprise. Whoever it was, the person kept himself covered in a black cloak and he was fast; just not faster than Grimmjow.

The Arrancar was in no mood to play around and so he used his sonido to get above the man and shifted his hand into claws. When he propelled himself down to rip the attacker in half he was caught by something long and fleshy. He wasted no time in ripping it to shreds and jumped back to avoid a spear-like tail as it shot up through the ground. Grimmjow saw the man in black use the interception as an opportunity to create some kind of ring in the air. The area within shattered when complete, the reality of Hueco Mondo falling away and the appearance of a very old and traditional Japanese building was seen on the other side. It was a doorway to the World of the Living. Grimmjow bolted forward with is sonido while firing off a Bala in an attempt to stop his escape but the ring closed just as the Reiatsu blast exploded. "Damn it…" He cursed unhappily but before he dwells on his escaped prey he had something else to deal with. "You must really want to die." He said as he turned to the now eleven armed yet somehow lizard like Adjunchas Hollow that was crouched and snarling like a stupid basic Hollow fresh out of being a plus soul.

The Adjunchas roared and sent all of its extending arms directly at Grimmjow. He rushed past them all and stood directly behind the Adjunchas, Cero already charged. "What an embarrassment…"

The lesser Hollow attempted to get away with a sonido of its own but was too slow and his head as completely incinerated. "Grimmjow!" Nel called as she arrived.

"About time you got here!" He was not happy. If she hadn't been so slow then one of them would have definitely been able to catch the man.

"Is that a Menos?" She seemed a little horrified at the sight of the Hollow dead and now disintegrating.

"Yeah, the asshole helped the Quincy get away." Grimmjow walked to where the ring gateway had been. The ground was splattered in a decent amount of blood; the attacker didn't completely escape the Bala.

"If that really was a human it wasn't a Quincy. This arrow is crafted from material, not Reiatsu." Nel held out one of the arrows that had been fired at them, it had a wooden shaft and steel head. Tied to the shaft was something that looked like one of the paper charms that where all over the shrine that he went to.

"What the hell is this for?" He grabbed the paper and it sent a painful wave of energy through his body.

"You shouldn't do that." The woman waited until after he touched it to warn him.

He glared at her as he shook his hand to try and get the feeling out but she tucked the arrow in the back of her belt with the second one without a hint of guilt. "We need to continue on."

Grimmjow didn't question why. It seemed that a new enemy was opening themselves up for the slaughter and he wasn't going to pass this up.

This time when they ran through the darkness Grimmjow and Nelliel were both completely focused on the task at hand and neither spoke or pestered the other. It took hours of searching but they knew the unmistakable sound of a Gillian cry when they heard one. It wasn't just one Gillian either, the collective cries of the Menos that they heard as they closed in on the source was almost deafening.

"What the hell?" Nel cursed in an uncharacteristic shock.

Before the two Arrancar was a virtual sea of Gillian Menos, all of them were crying but they were also standing perfectly still. Standing in a distant petrified tree was another human just in front of another ring shaped gate. This human couldn't have been the same as he was not injured and while Grimmjow couldn't be certain because of the distance, he thought this one was shorter, as well as carrying a long gold staff. The human waved his arm out as if issuing a command and all at once the Gillian opened Gargantas and passed through them. Grimmjow ignored the Gillian evacuation and instead went straight for the one who was clearly controlling them all with Nel close behind him. The human waved his staff in a slashing motion and it sent a blade of Reiatsu at the Arrancar. They both dodged it, allowing the Reiatsu to cut through the ceiling and it caused the desert sand on the surface to pour down and cause a small scale cave in. The human used the distraction to escape through his gate.

Nel started to call out. "Grimmjow-"

"Yeah, I know!" He didn't let her finish and had already opened a Garganta. They raced through and followed the sound of the clamoring Menos through the dark corridor until they caught up with a Gillian and joined it through its Garganta and out at the target location. "Of FUCKING course!" Grimmjow couldn't contain his complaint. They were in Karakura Town.

()

To say that having almost two days pass without any sightings of Grimmjow was disheartening was as gross of an understatement as saying Yukiko was interested in art. Wonders and concerns as to why Grimmjow hadn't come back to the apartment building filled her mind constantly and she wasn't sure how to handle it. She tried to rationalize that Grimmjow coming to the building every day since her departure was asking a lot and that was the only way he would even know when she returned but she was so focused on returning to her apartment that it never crossed her mind that she herself had no actual way of contacting him. So she was left to sit in her new room and stare out the window; somehow she didn't even feel like painting. She just wanted to see Grimmjow, to see that he was finally free and happy and _okay_. To show him that she was okay too…

{"Grimmjow, please come back already."} She sighed out.

Her stomach growled to tell her that she had to get some food. She went to the refrigerator and found that it was already almost empty. It really shouldn't surprise her, she can only buy as much food as she can carry so she was always going grocery shopping every few days. Still, she would need to think about what she was going to do about money. Professionally painting is great but it's not something that provides a regular income and with her release from the hospital she was also released from government care altogether which means no allowances to fall back on. _"_ _I should get a job."_

She walked to the grocery store as she thought over her current situation. She needed a way of earning a fixed income but she would also need ample free time for painting when she did get a request which meant part time work would be ideal. But she also had the hurdle of being mute to deal with. What kind of work can someone who is handicapped get? She never thought to look so she had no idea where to even begin. She continued to think of it when she reached her destination. _"_ _Actually I spend plenty of time and money on food, maybe I should see if there are any part-time positions I can get here."_

It was an idea and as good of a place to start as any other so after she picked out some ingredients she inquired with the cashier who called the manager over. Yukiko was given an application to take home. She thanked the man and returned to her apartment. She settled on cooking rice and curry but didn't make it to actually eating. While sitting at the table her head felt like it was being ripped apart with the sudden sensation of openings in the world's boundary. It was the first time in a long time that the feeling was debilitating but she was certain it was never this painful. The hole that was being opened must have been monstrous. At least, that was her initial assumption but it continued longer than the few seconds that it would take for a single opening. She found the persistent feeling concerning and abandoned her food to rush outside.

It was early evening and the sky was filling with warm colors but her sight of it was being obstructed with towers of black with more tearing holes in reality with every passing second; it was a virtual army of Gillian. Yukiko stood, frozen in place. She had never seen or heard of something like this and just as distressing was that fact that she did not see it coming. {"Or did I?"} She questioned to herself.

She hated that the thought occurred to her because now she needed to find the answer rather than find shelter far away from the massive volume of destruction that clomped around Karakura. The spiritual power that filled the air from the Hollows was bothersome an made it feel like she was breathing dirty air but Yukiko forced herself to ignore it and continued on towards one of the more commercial areas of the town where there was a lot of humans, which naturally is where the monsters crowded around.

It didn't take long for the somewhat familiar release of Kurosaki's Reiatsu to shine overwhelmingly bright through the dozens and dozens of shadowy energies. The bright energy moved quickly and was already beginning to cut through the towering Menos before she was even three blocks out from the store. She stopped to try and follow the path of the Shinigami so that she could intercept it and stay close to him, where it will be safest. When she did, Yukiko noticed a few other Riatsu that were closer that those of a Hollow than a Shinigami. She froze in place, one was a feeling that she was very familiar with. {"Grimmjow?"}

He was moving quickly through the Gillian as well, killing them at a rapid pace. Grimmjow was there. He was in the World of the Living. She can feel him there, only a few blocks away.

She was no longer thinking and with her original objective a distant memory she could only act. Yukiko sprinted towards the danger and mixed in an occasional Flash Step to try and cover more ground. She was rushing to Grimmjow's location, or rather trying to. He was moving through the sky so fast she wasn't sure how she was hoping to keep up but she didn't want to waste these precious seconds on regaining intelligent forethought; she just wanted to get to him.

Unfortunately that also meant that she wasn't considering her surroundings either and had failed to realize that the man she was chasing was at the center of a sea of Gillian. It was when the hauntingly empty cries of a giant Hollow was made from behind her that the reality of what kind of situation she ran head first into hit her.

She needed to find some way to catch Grimmjow's attention; if she missed this chance she didn't know if or when her next to find him will be. Yukiko ran to the nearest tall building and used a flash step or three to race up the fire escape to get a better vantage point of what was happening. The three Reiatsu that rushed across the sky were joined by a fourth, that one another Shinigami, and they were able to annihilate the Menos at an impressive rate. Every second that passed saw the fall of two or three Hollows. It gave her a sense of reassurance that there might actually be very few human causalities; she might've hoped for no causalities if she was naive enough.

She saw a streak of white-blue flash across the orange sky and recognized the Shinigami Kurosaki at its origin. When the light cut through one of the towering Gillian causing it to disintegrate she moved on from that sight and searched for the man that glowed with a blue Reiatsu that competed only with the color of his cat eyes. She could see streaks of orange, green, red and finally blue as the fighters flew across the sky. {"Why do spirit beings have weirdly colored hair?"} She asked herself as she half slid half fell back down the metal platforms and gave chase after the blue down the now abandoned street.

Every few steps she ran though she would need to change directions to be facing the same way as his trail. {"Damn it Grimmjow! Stay still!"} She shouted knowing no one, not even she could hear the words. {"Chasing after him isn't working… You better be paying attention."} She half prayed to, half ordered the Arrancar that just wouldn't stop moving. Yukiko took a deep breath and mentally readied herself for the exhaustion that was sure to come next. The woman collected a large portion of her own Reiatsu and released it in a single burst.

And that was it. She didn't have enough energy for so much as a single Flash Step. Yukiko fell to her knees and for a few moments all she could hear was the sound of her own heart beat and breathes. In the back of her mind it registered that the four Reiatsu paused but she was too concerned about something else to truly give the fact the attention that it deserved. The deafening steps of the monsters echoed around her and for some reason they all seemed to be growing louder with each passing one, as if they was walking closer to her. When she dared to look up it was clear, the Gillian were closing in around her. One was already standing over her, mouth open with a sphere of red glowing into existence. From her angle she could also see the faintest glimmer of white just above its collar of spikes. _"_ _Ah… I was right. This is your doing Rin."_

Yukiko saw the energy of the Cero burst forward directly to her but before it hit, her head and vision began swimming as she was moved at a speed she never experienced before. She felt the hardness of a man's body envelop her and the impulse of fear built within her but it all disappeared when she felt a burning power surge from the man with Reiatsu of blue fire. {"Grimmjow…"}

She whispered his name against his chest before she dared to look up. The illusion that the shrine deity had granted her at the festival felt like an insult to the reality. Her eyes wandered up a thick neck until they saw thick, white protrusions that were on the other side of his face but still peeked out enough to interrupt the subtle curve of a strongly defined jaw which she followed into blue hair that matched a crisp winter's day sky too perfectly to seem real. The streak of a vibrant green pulled her eyes to his and she saw that his iris matched his hair and cat eyes perfectly. At this moment those brilliant blue orbs were staring at a headless and disintegrating Menos with the sharp fixation of a predator. Those eyes looked down and his chin tilted slightly as his looked at her and she could swear he was staring right into her puny soul. He looked away from her all too soon and faced an oncoming group of Hollows. Yukiko felt his grip on her tighten slightly, securing her more closely to him, and turned his whole torso as he punch the air with a wide hook. Along the curve of his moving fist bursts of energy exploded forward and the blasts seemed to detonate against the masks of the Menos' blowing holes into their heads, allowing them to fade out of existence. As soon as that was done Yukiko's head was spinning even faster as they seemed to teleport to the roof of a building. His speed really did make her flash step feel like a snail crawl.

When her feet were on solid concrete he released her and even pulled her away from him slightly before breaking contact completely. He looked at her like he wasn't sure how he felt but she could see bits of confusion and shock in his expression that was partially hidden behind the remnants of a fanged mask. {"Hi, Grimmjow."} She wasn't sure what to say but figured a greeting was a decent place to start.

She didn't miss the way his eyes widened when she silently spoke. "Yukiko… You're out here?"

His voice was deep and confused but the sound of it speaking her name brought her relief when she wasn't even aware that she was afraid. The sound of the Gillian cries felt faint and there seemed to only be a few others but it was unlikely that they were going to survive much longer. Grimmjow looked at the ongoing battle but turned back at her when he spoke again. "Where do you live now?"

The question was a bit surprising. {"You know I moved?"}

"Are you going to tell me or not?" He sounded a little annoyed. He never did like it when she wouldn't answer his card questions right away, why would a verbal question be any different? She smiled in relief at that.

{"The same building. I just moved across the hall."}

As soon as she spoke he grabbed her and jumped back into the sky. Perhaps he noticed that his higher speed was making her feel nauseous or maybe he just didn't use it since there was no need to but Grimmjow did move slower as he took her back to her apartment. All the while she watched his face, inspecting it and all of the minute changes caused by every little muscle twitch. He glanced down at her a couple of times and when he did he would quickly look forward with intense focus and his jaw was clench slightly. When the Arrancar landed and set her back down she looked away from him to watch and ensure her feet were on the ground when she actually supported her own weight.

Maybe part of her was expecting him to leave immediately because she looked back to him again and waited for him to vanish from her sight. Instead, true to the impatience she remembered him to have, he walked past her and into the building. Yukiko smiled and rushed to his side then a step past him so that she could lead him to her new room. It was past the previous one and at the back corner. Like all the apartments beside the door was the unit number and occupant name. Her read Unit 2, Ametsuchi Yukiko and Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow. When she unlocked the door she entered but stood next to the doorframe to wait him.

The Arrancar entered the room as casually as if he had been living there all his life but she could see the slight swivel of his head as he looked around. Yukiko closed the door and took off her shoes but left on her coat. "Your window is open…" Grimmjow spoke with a voice that resonated with quiet disbelief.

She smiled and walked around him so that he could see her face. {"I always leave it open for you."}

"Why would I use a window? I'm not stuck in a cat body anymore. I haven't needed a window to check for you for the past month and a half and I sure as hell won't need one in the future."

She needed a second to respond. Sure, she had put his name up with hers since he was still welcome but that was mostly out of childish hope that she never actually expected to be met. She didn't really know what to expect from him, or what he wanted. But now she was flooded with the desire to hug him but restrained herself, uncertain how he would react to such unwarranted contact. Yukiko felt the opening of a new gate between worlds and the disappearing of the other Arrancar and the Shinigami that came during the fighting. {"Your friend left."} She informed Grimmjow.

He raised an eyebrow. "Friend? Nelliel is a pain in the ass. The only place we're friends is in one of her fucked up, pitifully hopeful dreams."

The comment made her laugh and he seemed to relax slightly as he sat down and put his sword down behind him. Yukiko closed her window then joined him on the floor. He sat beside her little table but she sat in front of him rather than across it.

He was looking at her for a couple of seconds then frowned deeply and blinked a bunch of times as he looked away. She could swear there was a bit of redness to his cheek but the lighting wasn't the best so she could have been mistaken.

…He was uncomfortable. It was obvious that he was happy to see her but also embarrassed about it. Just looking at him she could see that he was so many things; things that she had already learned from their time together before but also many things that she had yet to experience. Like the way his exposed cheek dimpled the tiniest bit when he frowned as he was now and she thought that it would become a deep indent should he smile. She pinched and pulled his cheek slightly and started to lightly run her fingers across the teeth of his mask fragment.

He quickly grabbed her wrists and held her hands off of him. "What are you doing?!"

{"You're real."} She released the words without thinking them. They made him pause and his grip loosened. {"I imagined meeting you more than once but you were never really there. It was always just my imagination. But you're real now. Right?"}

Grimmjow's eyes and frown tightened again. "Fuck… Fuck, fuck, fuck."

His repeated cursing surprised her but he was looking down so it didn't seem like he was actually talking to her. "Seeing you again was supposed to make it go away…"

{"What?"} She asked but he wasn't looking at her so he didn't know.

"I was supposed to stop feeling like this and go back to normal once I knew you were okay." He spoke a little louder now; intentionally including her in his thoughts.

{"What do you feel like?"} Even though he was still looking at the floor she couldn't help but ask. The woman slipped a hand out of his and gently pulled his chin up. {"Stop feeling like what?"}

He suddenly shouted in frustration. "I don't know! I don't get emotions like this!"

Yukiko didn't smile to reassure him, nor did she frown at his yelling. She understood what he meant. He felt something new; new things are confusing and sometimes troubling to adjust to. She felt troubled too. Being close to him, being _held_ like this by him felt terrifying to her traumatized mind as well as comforting. He was a man after all, a fact that was clearer now than ever, and that fact alone was a frightening thing to her. She learned to not beat men senseless over harmless gestures in her time at the hospital, but you can't cure fear.

Yukiko glanced at the uneaten food on the table. Eating meals was the first thing that they learned to do together in peace so why not start from there? The woman pulled her other hand completely from his grasp and stood from the floor. The curry and rice had cooled so she set what was already plated on the metal space in between the burners and turned the stove back on to warm the food still in pots. Yukiko felt eyes on her as she moved around in the kitchen area but wasn't bothered. She pulled out a pair of glass cups from the cupboard that contain all of her glassware and pour two glasses of orange juice. She carried them over and sat back down in front of Grimmjow, holding the cup out for him with a smile. {"Do you still like this?"}

He took it and drank the whole glass without stopping to breathe then held it back out for her. "Not really."

She stared at him in his eyes and saw a little twitch in his otherwise serious expression that belayed his attempt at a joke. Yukiko wasn't sure what it was about it, maybe it was that he made the attempt or that it broke the weird tension that took over the room, but she stated to laugh. At first it was just a soft giggle that would be almost imperceptible but it grew into a chuckle that shook her shoulders and somehow she ended up laughing uncontrollably to the point that she was holding her sides and fell softly to her back.

"I know I'm not that funny so stop laughing so much." He sounded a little disgruntled with her but when she peeked up at him he didn't look it. Still, she did her best to comply and sat up properly, wiping the tears out of her eyes as she attempted to regain a semblance of control over herself.

It was then that for the first time, he smiled at her. It was a small one, the kind of little smile that you don't know you're doing, but it was enough to tell her all she would ever need to know. Whether he needed her or not was irrelevant, Grimmjow liked being there with her; and she liked being with him.

Yukiko got back up and took his glass, brushing his fingers as she did to gauge both his and her own reactions. He made no moves to avoid her nor did she feel repulsed by the contact. The woman poured him more juice as well as filling a plate and bringing it to him with a spoon before quickly pulling her now warmed plate off the stove top and sat down across from him. Perhaps a little distance would help keep things comfortable as well as make talking easier. As if she needed the extra bonus, it gave her a perfect view of his face. She watched the way he ate and drank, as well as the way his eyes darted between her and the plate in front of him. "Stop staring so much, it's weird."

{"I was staring a lot?"}

"This entire time. You haven't stopped looking at me longer than a minute."

She shrugged. {"I told you before didn't I? I have trouble taking my eyes off beautiful things."}

His face became a noticeable shade of red. "Don't say weird things like that! Also I'm man so don't call me that!"

She chuckled at the way he half shouted his response. {"Do you always get embarrassed about compliments?"}

"Just the weird fucking ones like that!" He was still trying to calm down from his earlier outburst.

{"Fair enough."}

After he regained his cool he surprised her with a question. "Why do you look so different?"

It took Yukiko a second to understand what he meant. Her hair had grown a bit since it was shaved but it was still shorter than his. {"When I was taken to the hospital they cut off all of my hair since it would have been annoying to the nurses."} She was still unhappy about it.

"That and you look like a skeleton."

{"They didn't give me enough food. I eat a lot, remember?"}

"And sleep a lot." He added.

{"What have you been doing since I… left?"} She asked, desperate to not discuss her time at the hospital.

"I went back to Hueco Mundo. Harribel put me in charge of some annoying kid though. This kid is so helpless it's a miracle that he survived as long as he has." He sounded unhappy as he spoke.

Yukiko gave him a curious look. {"You never seemed to like kids before."}

"I hate them." He gave her a dark look and a vicious frown as he said that to make it clear how serious he was.

{"So why put up with him?"} If he was that against being around children then surely he could just not deal with this kid.

"Working with him is a means to an end. The more Arrancar that Harribel places under me the larger of a force I will have behind me when I make my move to overthrow her."

This was a subject that Yukiko was looking forward to, Grimmjow seemed giddy when he brought it up as a cat. {"What will you do once you're king?"}

He closed his eyes rubbed his head. "…Never really thought about it. Not counting Aizen since he wasn't a Hollow, there've only been two different kings in my existence. The old one didn't do jack shit and the current one does a lot so it's not like there is a specific job that the king is supposed to do. I'll probably do nothing different with my time than what I did before having to deal with the kid; so nothing in particular."

{"Then what's the point of being the king?}

Grimmjow smiled, but there was a certain quality to it that made him look a bit feral. "Being hailed as the strongest. That's the whole reason for even having a title like king in the Hollow's world."

She could say nothing in response. What was there to say? Faced with such a powerful desire what could she do other than smile.

"Then again, becoming the Hollow King won't mean as much if I can't beat Kurosaki. Last time we fought he still beat me. Not that I was at my best."

{"Why weren't you at your best?"}

He glanced away from her but did look back before answering. "No reason in particular."

Yukiko raised an eyebrow, doubtful of that but didn't pursue an answer. A man as stubborn as him would sooner leave than give her one. Instead of trying to continue a conversation they both resumed eating. It was strange, she had waited so long to see Grimmjow again but now she had little to say. She was content, even happy, just being with him. No conversation needed.

When they finished Grimmjow moved to a side of the table adjacent to Yukiko and laid down. From his position he still had a clear view of her face though if he could still read her lips from the upside-down view he had that would be truly impressive. "Why'd you move here?"

She looked at him with wide eyes but didn't actually know how to respond to the question. Why did she move? How about because a rapist attacked her in her old apartment? {"You do remember what happened at my old apartment right?"}

His face scrunched up in a sour look. "I'm not a fuckin idiot. I'm talking about the fact that you moved somewhere that looks exactly the same as your old place."

 _"_ _Oh."_ She thought, feeling a little bad. {"It's not like it's the same room. It's not a big deal."} She tried to reassure him that she really was fine.

He crossed his arms. "Yeah that's bullshit. If just knowing that it's not the exact same as what happened was all it took then why were you still nervous about me?"

Yukiko was truly and completely speechless so she looked down at her empty plate. He saw that much in her behaviors?

When she failed to give him an answer he sighed and scratched his head. "He's dead by the way."

She looked back up at him. She knew this already but it was still different to hear it from the man who actually did it. She crawled over so that she was now beside him. {"Did you make him suffer?"} She kept her expression neutral as she asked.

Grimmjow laughed a little and wore a huge smile; his cheek did dimple like she thought it would. "You really don't know me if you have to ask that. I made him go through enough pain that he was probably praying for death by the time I blasted his chest open."

It probably shouldn't have, but his answer made her happy. She leaned down, cradled the masked cheek and kissed his bare cheek. She righted herself back up again so that he could see her face properly, and that she was smiling just was widely as he was. {"Thank you."}

Grimmjow lost his smile for a second in a flash of surprise. "You really aren't like other humans, you know that?"

She breathed out a laugh and nodded yes.

When she lifted her head back up from the nod she found that he was sitting up in front of her. Then without warning he kissed her. It was surprisingly sweet and tame compared to his behavior, just a chaste peck on her lips. Perhaps it's because it was a stark contrast compared to what one would expect from him but she found it more shocking than if he simple rammed his tongue down her throat.

"Not that fun when someone surprises you with that is it?" He asked tauntingly. "At least kissing a woman is normal, especially when compared to kissing a cat."

Yukiko's brain couldn't keep up with what he was talking about at first. _"_ _Kissing a cat? When… Oh, after the festival."_ It felt like a lifetime ago but she now remembered how after the festival, just before going to bed she kissed him. She also remembered him becoming incredibly stiff in shock from the gesture. The woman reached forward and pulled him back to her by his shirt, kissing him again. This time he returned it but she pulled away before he could even attempt to deepen it.

"Don't do that." He said with a slight snarl as he grabbed her and pulled her in again. This time it was the kind of kiss that Yukiko would probably have expected from someone as aggressive as Grimmjow: completely dominating over her and it made her feel like she couldn't move. Like she was trapped. Without hesitation she threw her elbow straight up and pulled away with a Flash Step to the window. Because of how close they were her elbow only clipped his jaw and she had a very strong suspicion that she was the only one who received any damage from the strike as there was a suspiciously wet trail rolling down her forearm.

"You're only going to hurt yourself hitting me like that you know." He told her, seeming completely unfazed by her attack.

{"It got you to let me go."} She said, trying her best to ignore the fresh pain and the exhaustion that was reignited through her body. That Flash Step probably burned through all of Reiatsu she regained from her dinner.

He smiled. "So you can fight back, that's good."

{"You did that to see how I would react?"} She was a little worried now.

Grimmjow was frowning now. "No, I did that because I wanted to. I didn't expect you to lose your shit over it."

She wanted to be on her guard but fighting him would be like fighting mountain, she'd get nowhere and in a painful way. Still, she couldn't stop herself from leaning back against the wall.

His frown deepened but he stopped looking at her, like he was having some kind of internal debate. "Alright, fine!"

The sudden outburst surprised her.

"I won't do that again so sit back down or something would you?"

Yukiko wasn't sure how to take that. Having to restrain himself from doing what he apparently wanted to was different from him restraining himself from blindly attacking her when he was a cat. At least to her it was.

At the same time she also wasn't entirely sure she wanted him to _never_ do that again. {"I didn't dislike it. You… surprised me."}

His snarky smile was back and he was on his feet. "Alright. Then let's try that again."

The Arrancar was deliberately slow in his approach of her and this time when he kissed her he was less aggressively dominating. Yukiko had never been kissed like this before, like there was an actual acknowledgment of her as a human. It was different, just like the arm that snaked its way around her back without feeling the least bit entrapping. _"_ _Yeah, I definitely don't dislike this."_

()

In a dark room illuminated only by candle light, a black haired woman in priestess robes stared into mirror where she watched through the eyes of her owl. She was disappointed in Yukiko. The young woman revealed that she completely lacked any significant power. Her Reiatsu was so pitiful it could only mean one thing: Yukiko's soul was fractured.

The woman looked on was a Gillian readied to kill her and was concerned that it would actually successes but the girl was saved, by a Hollow curiously enough. Then again, she was nothing more than a Hollow that hadn't yet died now.

"Ibuki." She called to a man in a shadowed corner.

"Yes, Rin-sama?" He answered.

"Has our son returned from Hueco Mundo?"

"Yes, he has." When he spoke there was a slightly questioning tone to him.

"Bring him to me." She ordered.

The man left the room and she continued to look into the mirror. Yukiko and the blue haired Hollow-man were speaking on a roof very briefly before he lifted her and took off into the sky. Rather than follow and risk her creature getting noticed, Rin slid her fingers against the mirror to disconnect it from the shikikami's vision and looked at her own reflection instead. Her brown-black eyes looked giddy, and her sleek hair fell perfectly straight around her body and to the floor.

Behind her a door slid open and a teenager entered the room. "You wished to see me Mother?"

She turned to her child. "Yes Mashiro. I wanted you to know, thanks to your success nearly an entire class of Hollow has been eliminated and I have become convinced."

"Thank you Mother." The boy accepted the praise happily.

Her husband was not so easily satisfied with her word. "Convinced?"

She may have turned to him with a smile but it was a by no means loving. "…Of our daughter's location. She is in the jureichi, Karakura Town."

* * *

 **It has finally happened! Grimmjow and Yukiko are together! Holy shit though, I didn't mean to give you guys blue balls with the long wait. So sorry about that, please forgive me! I just want to say it now I don't know when the next update will be. School is not getting any less intense and I can't ignore it and just write for you (even though it's much more preferred). It's the largest part in why getting this out took as long as it did. I would sit down to write and literally fall asleep. I'll update as fast as I can, I just wouldn't expect it to actually be soon. I'm sure a lot of you are in school too so good luck to all of us!**

 **Yay Comments! (´** **｡** **•** **ω** **•** **｡** **`) :**

 **ookawa: I'm am very sorry that you had to wait an even longer time for an update. I know I went for the obvious route of a Yukiko POV last chapter but I thought it was important and it helped explain the letters that found their way to Hueco Mundo. It was finally the reunion everyone has been waiting for!**

 **Jemstone6259: Thank you :)**

 **Savage Kill: There is a reason for the diet and it does have a connection to her powers but I'm going to have to say I can't go into detail yet. Considering what I've done to the characters I write it wouldn't be a big surprise if something bad happened but it was just moving, nothing dramatic. She mentioned in an earlier chapter that she is from a village where having spiritual power was common. It was forever ago so it's not surprising that it was forgotten.**

 **XD-kaycee: I'm really happy to see that you feel more interested in Yukiko. I didn't want her to be defined as "Grimmjow's love interest" so for anyone to be curious about her as a character of her own is fantastic. Yukiko and Nui are human in the same way quincies and the fullbring characters are human. Very human but not really at the same time. The story is going to be delving into the situation with Rin probably sooner than later but no promises on a timeline.**

 **rainydaywritings: Hello again! There are few thing more heartbreaking as a reading then finding a good story and it hasn't been updated in forever. I hope you enjoy where the story goes :)**

 **beautiful-note2895: He never really got the chance, nor did he have to. I actually accomplished everything you asked for. That never happens 0.o**

 **giada2196: Dialog is fun to write and I will be able to get more in from now on but I think focusing too much on that takes away from interaction between characters and it just becomes pointless words. The devil's in the details right ;)**

 **guest: You are read** **it in one go? That is impressive! Thank you for all of the kind words. I'm just as surprised with how well the concept worked out to be honest. I can't see Grimmjow falling for someone he'd have to save from everything so making Yukiko a fighter was a must.**

 **bleachrulz: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry for the long wait. And I hope you get some sleep**

 **guest: Thank you**


	17. Chapter 17

**PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR THE LONG WAIT! I didn't realize it was going to take this long even when I gave you guys the heads up to expect a delay. I really hope you enjoy the new chapter**

* * *

 **Chapter 17**

When Grimmjow woke up he was on a tatami floor and covered in a blanket. He pushed himself up with a yawn and looked over at the woman sleeping under her window. She had turned her futon sideways so that it only cushioned her torso and some of her legs then folded it over herself so that it could also be her blanket. To Grimmjow's only slight disappointment after they spent a bit of time kissing the previous night Yukiko started to fall in and out of sleep so they simply stopped and went to bed. Initially they tried to both sleep on the futon but the woman couldn't relax with him there and he didn't really fit on it anyways so the Arrancar took the blanket and slept on the floor while she took the cushioned blanket.

If he remembered correctly, when she used her power in any way she would need to sleep for 13 hours, give or take an hour. Just to see what would happen though he got up and crouched over her sleeping form. She seemed very peaceful and content in her dreams. "YUKIKO!" Grimmjow yelled.

Her brows knitted together slightly and she turned on her side but otherwise didn't show any signs of life. He pushed his finger against her forehead and rocked her face back and forth with a frown. "You are a disturbingly heavy sleeper."

Grimmjow took hold of her and lifted the woman out from her casing then used his foot to unfold it before putting her back down. He tossed the blanket back over her then turned his back to the virtually comatose woman, opened a garganta and left. He returned to Las Noches and looked around the grand hall, where he stepped through. One person was in the room, the rainbow haired Arrancar and she simply stared at him for a moment. "Welcome back."

He gave her a glance as acknowledgment of her greeting but nothing else. The male Arrancar settled to wander around the halls of Las Noches and think about his previous night. Yukiko wasn't completely how she had been when she was sent away, but she was overall well. The woman was wary around him and that was more than vaguely annoying though he could clearly see that she didn't want to be so he'll give her some time to adjust. She hadn't said much about what she had been doing in those past days but that didn't really surprise him, she had always been vague when it came to something that had happened to her. Grimmjow suspected that she didn't want to talk about the hospital because she just wanted to forget about it, especially since they clearly didn't take good care of her. He was exaggerating when he called her a skeleton but she _was_ skinnier than when they had last been together and it wasn't a good thing. Despite all the food that woman ate she didn't have any noticeable fat; he had literally stood on her stomach and there was no pudge to speak of. Now her bones showed definition in her arms and face, a sign that usually meant someone was starved. Not only had the hospital _starved_ his human but they cut off all of her hair. He did not like the change and considering her expression when it came up, she didn't either.

While he was on the subject of her physical appearance, she was a little shorter than he expected. He was well aware that his perception of size was skewed due to being a small lap animal but he wasn't expecting her to only be his shoulder level, though admittedly that's probably average height for human women.

 _*Her smile was as nice as I remember…*_ The thought crossed his mind without his permission and he frowned with an uncomfortable warmth in his cheeks when he did catch it. Grimmjow walked outside since that was where his best chance for a distraction would be; and he was right.

In the large open field of sand Nel and Achiim were sparring. Nel was going ridiculously easy on the boy, feigning acts of offense with weak and sloppy punches and slow kicks while also pretending to just barely be able to avoid or block his attacks. She stopped when she saw Grimmjow come a little closer and the kid stopped to follow her gaze. For some reason he smiled brightly at the sight of Grimmjow and approached him. "You're back! Why were you gone for so long?"

"None of your business." He responded, not missing the way Nel covered her smile with the tips of her fingers and looked like she might have been laughing. "What?"

She stepped close to him and walked in a circle around him, then crossed her arms with a slightly confused look on her face. "What happened?"

"You didn't answer me." The man grunted.

Nel glanced to Achiim then walked behind him and covered his ears. The kid started complaining and flailing around but Nel didn't let up. "With how fast you ran off with that woman I was expecting you to come back looking a little less like you slept _in_ your clothes."

Grimmjow smirked. "So, little Ms. Righteous really is as nosey as they come."

Nel turned red in a mix of embarrassment and anger at his comment and started shouting in her child-tone that came out whenever she wasn't paying attention. "I'm just trying to be friendly!"

"By the way the kid's head looks like it might pop." He added in a lazy tone.

The woman looked down and realized she was crushing child's skull along with blocking his ears. "Achiim-chan, I'm sorry!"

"I'm fine." He responded though he sounded a bit dizzy.

"What were you two doing anyways?" Grimmjow asked.

"Training. I know working to improve others is a new concept to you but that's what it looks like." Nel answered.

"Looked more like you were playing with the kid to me. I know for a fact that you would never be anywhere close to his attacks in a fight."

"I don't want to hurt him." She argued.

"Umm…" The child spoke up. "Nel-san, I kind of like the way Grimmjow-san teaches me better."

Nel frowned in shock, Grimmjow was surprised too.

Their faces must have made him nervous about his opinion because he spoke much faster. "It's just that Grimmjow-san works me much harder and I know I'm doing a lot better because of it."

Nel's expression descended from shock to despair and the woman-child began to cry. "You mean, you don't like me?"

Achiim exploded into a panic. "Of course I like you! I… I just think Grimmjow-san is a good teacher!"

Now the woman glared at the Grimmjow. He looked back at her with crossed arms. "You're seriously mad at me? I think you're forgetting the part where I didn't want anything to do with the kid in the first place."

"Have you reported to Tier-san yet?" Nelliel growled out.

"Why? You did already didn't you? She doesn't need to hear everything twice." Grimmjow absentmindedly scratched at his throat while he spoke.

"It's a formality that you need to get used to. Now GO!" To further emphasis the force of her command Nel roared out one of her own pink Cero. Grimmjow reinforced his Hierro around his hands and shot forward; he threw the attack out of his way and shot his right fist forward. Nel crossed her right hand across her chest to catch it and then hammered her left at Grimmjow's face. He craned his neck to avoid it with a savage smile and held his open hand just over her face, his palm glowing with a blue Cero of his own. Before he could fire the woman released his hand and used Sonido to escape the blast.

Grimmjow was a bit disappointed that she didn't inhale it to use her Doble Cero but at least she was finally fighting. Or at least she was. Now she was just standing with her hands held up. "STOP!"

"Why?!" He was rather irritated.

"I don't want to fight. You shouldn't either."

"Say's the person who attacked first." He taunted.

"She's right, you shouldn't want to fight." Harribel's calm voice carried out across the area.

Grimmjow looked back at her with a frown. "Is your head so far up your ass that you don't even know who you're talking to?"

"Welcome back Grimmjow. Iris told me that you had returned so I was curious as to why I hadn't heard from you." Said the dark skinned Arrancar.

"Because I don't have to tell you anything. I'll come and go whenever I feel like."

Harribel never seemed to change in her composure. "There is a chain of command here Grimmjow and you report to me."

"Or you can knock that shit off and get over yourself. We're Hollows. Stop trying to act like Shinigami."

Nel stepped towards him with her arms crossed. "We are not. We are simply acting like beings of intelligence. You should try it sometime."

Grimmjow had reached the point of having enough of these two and their opinions. He used Sonido to get in close to Nelliel and when she tried to step away he shot off a small Bala to disrupt her footing. The woman glanced down at her feet as she stumbled; Grimmjow used the chance to successfully punch her face. Unfortunately her Hierro was nothing to look down on and his strike did very little to actually hurt her but it didn't stop him from continuing his punches and on the third he could see that she was going to catch his fist so as it made contact he also released a Cero into her palm. The man felt the release from her hand but it was also accompanied by a sharp kick to his torso. The strike pushed him off of her slightly but as he coiled his legs to launch back at her he had to contain the energy as he found his neck between two swords: Nel at his front and Harribel at his back. Nel was glaring as menacingly as her bloodied yet still childish features could and while Grimmjow couldn't see the blond he was certain she was still maintaining her calmed expression. "We said you shouldn't want to fight."

"I say you should." He growled back.

Harribel removed her blade from the base of his skull. "Nelliel-san, let's leave him be."

The older woman looked past Grimmjow and at her king. Whatever it was that she saw was enough to convince her to obey and she lowered her blade. "Work with Achiim while you're here, since he likes you better." She said with a sour tone but walked away from him and back towards the stone palace together with Harribel.

Grimmjow watched as Nel's steps fell into sync with Harribel's almost instantly and walked closely behind her but a little to the right. Between her uncharacteristically submissive behavior and her insistence to always be close to Harribel Grimmjow was struck again with how stupid everyone must be to not see that the green haired woman was pining for the current Hollow King.

When he looked away from the women and at Achiim he could see a slight tremor run through the boy and there was still a shadow of fear in his face. "What? When the fighting started did you piss yourself or something?"

The question clearly upset the boy. "No!"

"Are you sure, 'cause you look like you need a diaper change." He teased while he put his hands in his pockets.

Achiim growled slightly and screamed angrily as he charged Grimmjow. The boy jumped and tried to punch him across the jaw but the older man kicked him away, sending him a good distance. "Pass out or land a hit. You have to do one or those if you want to be done for the day."

"Fine!" He yelled out like he was still angry but Grimmjow suspected that the boy was happy. He did admit to preferring the man as his teacher over Nel.

After about two hours of sparring Achiim finally passed out without managing to land a single hit on Grimmjow so he took the boy back into the palace and tossed him into his bed before returning to his room. In there, he dropped himself onto his bed and yawned. Las Noches was a boring as always, except for the part when he almost got a proper fight with one of the former Tres Espada.

With his head on his pillow he could feel the faint outline of the sketch book that he had stolen from Yukiko's previous apartment. "Is she awake yet?"

There was nothing else for him to bother with and he managed to pass some time so Grimmjow returned to the World of the Living and landed directly in Yukiko's apartment, her previous apartment that was. There was a man there who seemed to be unpacking a box, apparently someone was already moving in. He opened the room's door, uncaring of the man's sudden jump at it, and went down the hall to the proper room. He unlocked the door with a spare key that was kept in the on the name plate just as her previous arrangement.

The woman was there and she looked up at his entrance. "Going somewhere?" He asked since she was in a coat.

{"Just a walk."} She said with a little smile.

He rolled his eyes as he walked the three steps to get deeper into the room. "Damn it. You're being boring too."

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. {"You can come. It would give us a-"} She stopped abruptly then just stared at him with a disgusted look.

"What now?"

{"You're filthy and you reek! When was your last bath?"} She looked like she was yelling.

Grimmjow glanced down at himself and saw that he was smudged all the way down with dirt. He unconsciously hid one of his hands in his pocket and the other by scratching the back of his head. "Why is it suddenly an issue? You didn't care last night."

She frowned. {"A lot was happening last night. Go wash up."}

He put both of his hands in his pockets and leaned down a little so the he was eye level with the woman. "Why are you suddenly getting bossy?"

{"Why do you have to be told to bathe?"} She challenged back.

He got a sly grin on his face and reached out to wipe his dirty hands on her cheeks. She scampered backwards with an unhappy frown but didn't seem overly upset. {"Go wash yourself."}

"For all your panic towards men you sure are quick to demand I get naked." He teased.

She slackened her jaw slightly and flinched at the accusation. Her frown deepened and she seemed to turn a little red but then her expression changed, looking like she realized something. {"Actually you can wait a little first. I'll go and pick up clean clothes for you too."}

It wasn't noticeable since he was wearing nearly all black but his clothes were probably completely dirty too. "Do whatever you want, I don't care."

She left him all alone now, alone in her room. For half a moment he considered looking around only to remember that he already knew everything that was there. Rather than sit around he went ahead and took his bath.

()

Yukiko had never shopped for men's clothes before and she wasn't really sure where a good place to do so would be but assumed any clothing store would be fine. She walked to the first one that she could find since it felt a bit more important that she be fast rather than picky, gently rubbing her tender forehead as she went. The woman felt uncomfortable and out of place in the men's department at the store but she was fairly certain it was in her own mind. As quickly as she could, Yukiko skimmed through the racks of clothing and picked a pair of jean pants that looked like they'll fit and a dark navy tee shirt. She nearly went to the check out right then but realized he would probably need socks as well and of course right next to the socks was underwear. Yukiko's mouth pulled into a tight line and her cheeks reddened. {"If it was me I would want clean underwear too."} She mumbled to herself.

She whined silently and was certain her awkwardness was no longer in her own head and she reached out and grabbed whatever underwear was directly in front of her then rushed immediately to the check out. "Picking out clothes for a boyfriend?" The middle-aged woman behind the cash register asked with a smile.

Yukiko didn't quite know how to answer that.

"Umm… You do realize the underwear size that you picked out is twice as large as the pant size right?"

Yukiko looked at the embarrassing garment and finally saw that she had grabbed a pair that was possibly large enough for Yukiko hide the pants in them. She glanced back at the underwear section with displeasure. She'll have to go back…

The woman behind the counter laughed slightly then leaned across with a whisper. "How about I go grab a replacement pair?"

Yukiko looked at the woman like she was a God sent and put her hands together like she was praying and bowed her head slightly in a begging gesture. The employee stepped away and casually looked through the shelves of men's underwear and found a pair that seemed to match the pant size then returned to Yukiko to ring everything up. When she did Yukiko's jaw nearly dropped. _"_ _What the hell?! Why are men's clothes so cheap?"_ It was probably about half the amount it would have cost her to purchase a new outfit.

The young woman took the bags and smiled to the cashier then gestured with her hands. *Thank you.*

The sign language seemed to catch the stranger off guard and needed a moment to understand what she was doing but when she did a look of pity filled her eyes and Yukiko felt like she was just slapped in the face. "Take special care on your way home."

Yukiko's smile fell away and she left the store frowning. That was the problem with people: they always wanted to pity and look down on her because of her lack of a voice like she was something broken. _"_ _Well aren't you?"_ A voice that sounded suspiciously like Rin spoke in the back of her head. She could just see the monster of a woman now, reclining on an ornate day bed and smoking a long pipe. She could see the cold and detached eyes that looked at her, like Yukiko was little more than a pawn on a shogi board. Or perhaps a sword that no longer had any blade.

She wondered for a moment if that was part of what she liked about being with Grimmjow. When he was a cat he had even less means of communication than she and even now that he's in his real body he doesn't treat her as anything less than anyone else.

She felt a bit happier with the knowledge that she was returning to an apartment room that has Grimmjow inside, assuming he stuck around. When she reached her room and opened the door she silently announced that she was home but she wasn't ready for what she saw. Grimmjow was at the little table, sitting with a towel loosely wrapped around his waist and nothing else. He was looking through one of her sketch books and allowing water to drip from his hair and soak into the pages. {"What are you doing?!"}

He hadn't bothered to look up right away when she came in, instead apparently preferring to finish looking at the picture he currently had his eyes on. When he did finally acknowledge her presence in the room and reclined backwards on his hands, completely exposing his Hollow hole and muscular torso. "Took you long enough to get back."

{"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"} She screamed this time.

"I have no clue what you just said. If you're going to try talking do it slower idiot."

Yukiko finally managed to look away from the naked man and held out the bag of clothes. She heard a soft hum that sounded a little too amused for the situation. There was a shuffle sound as Grimmjow stood and stepped towards her but rather than take the clothes he walked well into her personal space and leaned down to her level. "What are you acting embarrassed for? You were the one who told me to get naked remember."

She kept her eyes shut and tried her best to ignore him since she was well past bothered and was currently feeling entirely uncomfortable. She shoved the bag in his face and completely turned around, holding herself in a tight ball.

He didn't say anything else. He just pulled out the clothes from the bag and she could hear the rustle of cloth. After about a minute he spoke up again. "Are you going to sit like that forever or are going somewhere?"

Yukiko sat up and risked a look at him. He was dressed and sliding his belt through the loops of the pants which seemed loose on him, surprisingly he didn't comment on it.

"The pants are too big." He said unhappily.

There it was.

He wasn't looking her way so she wrote on the white board that kept on her refrigerator and tapped on it to pull his eyes. **"** **Deal with it."**

Grimmjow huffed a bit but didn't really say anything in return.

Yukiko stifled a yawn and rubbed her face slightly to push it way.

"How the hell are you still tired?" Apparently Grimmjow noticed.

She shrugged. {"I could always sleep more."}

"With how heavy of a sleeper you are that's just asking for someone to attack you."

{"I'm not a heavy sleeper."} She corrected.

He looked at her like she was stupid. "Who are you trying fool? I stood over you and yelled then played with your face this morning and barely got a response."

Yukiko had a realization when he said that. {"Is that why I woke up with a bruise on my forehead?!"}

Grimmjow smirked. "I don't know." He pushed he finger against the center of her forehead. "Does it feel this size?"

She swatted his hand away at the wrist and attempted to shove him but he wouldn't budge and she went back slightly. None the less, she frowned at him. {"Yeah it does asshole!"}

"Well then, don't be such a deep sleeper." He was talking to her like it's her fault.

{"Of course, because you being nicer is out of the question."} She said with a neutral expression.

He crossed his arms and continued to smirk at her. "Glad we have an understanding."

Yukiko rolled her eyes and took her completed job application and sketch book off the table then opened the door. {"Do you want to come?"}

"If I wanted to sit around and do nothing I would've stayed in Hueco Mundo." She took that, and the fact that he was already through the doorway, as a yes.

She locked the door behind them and they walked side by side out of the building. "Where are we going anyways?"

Yukiko looked up and answered. {"I have to drop off a job application."}

He looked at her with an eyebrow raised and a bit of an annoyed expression. "What's that?"

Yukiko sighed with a frown as she held up her application. {"I have to give this piece of paper to someone so they can maybe hire me for a job. Then I work some days and make money then I can buy food."}

"Poor little human has to eat." He said in a teasing tone.

She pointed at him slightly. {"You eat my food too you know."}

Then he looked a bit smug. "You should be proud that I consider your food worth eating."

Yukiko narrowed her eyes but otherwise held a neutral expression. {"Keep up the haughty attitude and you'll lose your meals until I think you deserve it."}

Grimmjow started drilling his fist into the top of her head; it hurt Yukiko quite a bit but she also suspected that he was holding back most of his strength. She bent forward and tried to escape and turned to face him so that she could call him whatever word happened to make it to her lips first, highly expecting dick to be the winner but never got that far.

"Mommy what's that lady doing?" The young boy spoke up from further down the sidewalk.

"Shh!" The mother hurriedly hushed the child as she picked him to walk around Yukiko and purposely avoided eye contact.

Grimmjow laughed at Yukiko as her face burned red.

{"Shut up asshole!"} She yelled quickly knowing that he wasn't going to be able understand.

He just continued to grin. "Keep it up and you'll be the town's crazy lady."

She wanted to respond but held it in with a disgruntled frown; she didn't say anything else to Grimmjow in fact. He didn't seem to care though and interlocked his fingers behind his head and continued next to her at a leisurely pace.

They made it to the grocery store and the pair went inside and found the manager. She handed him her application and he took it with a smile. "I have time now, let's do the interview."

It caught her off guard and she glanced back at Grimmjow who was already walking away with a grumble, though it probably looked like she was looking at the doorway to the human man.

"Is now not a good time?" He asked.

 _"_ _Not really but the damage is already done…"_ She thought with a sigh. Yukiko sat down in the nearest chair motioned for the man to continue, mentally cringing at the uncomfortable situation that was about to come as this man gave her a string of questions.

After the interview the woman rushed out of the building as quickly as she could without making it too obvious that she didn't want to be there. She didn't notice any opening in the world so she was confident that Grimmjow hadn't left the World of the Living. Yukiko closed her eyes and searched for the familiar fiery Reiatsu, it was only a couple of blocks away so she made a beeline for him.

To her surprise the Arrancar was in the shopping district staring into a window of one of the buildings. His face was pulled into a snarl and his fists were raised up to almost shoulder height though he did seem to be in a fighting stance of any kind. _"_ _What's this psycho doing now?"_ She thought with an amused smirk.

"COME ON! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING?!" He shouted suddenly.

When she got to his side she looked into the window and saw that it was an electronic store with TVs on display. The one just in front of the man was showing a boxing match. She wrote on the back page of her sketch book again the tapped his side. He looked down at her then at the paper where she was pointing with her pencil. **"** **Are you seriously entertained by this?"**

"Is that even a question? There's nothing better than a good fight." He answered with a savage smile.

She kept a neutral expression when she wrote a response. **"** **I can think of five things that are better than a good fight."**

"…Doubt that."

She rolled her eyes as she started listing. **"** **A good meal, painting, festivals, going for walks, a hot bath."** Actually she could think of more so she kept going. **"** **Napping, window shopping, listening to music-"**

Grimmjow cut her off. "Your opinions are wrong." He said in an obnoxious voice as he looked away from her and back to the fight. "WATCH YOUR FEET DUMBASS!"

Just after he said that one of the boxer's stepped on his opponent's foot to trap him.

"Block your right!" He yelled again, though less energetically.

Yukiko leaned away slightly but smiled appreciatively at his entertainment, the man was clearly enjoying the show. She waited so that Grimmjow could watch the fight to the end even though he didn't seem to feel any sort of investment in which person won. While she waited something caught her attention but she didn't want to jump to conclusions so she tried to ignore it. Yukiko tapped Grimmjow to get his attention again. **"** **Why do you like fighting so much?"**

"Because I do. Fighting is living." He answered as they started walking away.

She frowned. **"** **It's barbaric."**

Grimmjow groaned. "You sound like the boring women back in Las Noches."

Yukiko couldn't help but roll her eyes. **"** **I'm sorry to disappoint you."**

"You shouldn't act so innocent. You've hit me remember and you definitely hit like someone who knows what they're doing." He argued.

Yukiko made a sour face. **"** **I was taught self-defense and hated every second of it."**

Grimmjow gave a short, singular laugh. "Ha! There's your problem! Self-defense is what you do when you let other people tell you what's acceptable. Fighting is something you do for yourself! It's for you and you alone. It's proof that you're alive!"

The woman watched him as she tried to understand. A proof of life…

"Can you honestly say you've never hurt someone for a reason that only mattered to you and loved the feeling?" He challenged.

Against her better judgment she did think about for a second and the memory of Kukai came up. While it wasn't a fight in any sense of the word, it did give her a nice feeling when she broke his nose against the table.

That she could think of a time to support Grimmjow's statement must have been on her face because he smirked in victory. Yukiko did a quick glance around for people and saw that no one was looking her way so she took a few steps ahead of her companion then turned herself to flip him off and rushed forward to the turn the upcoming corner. Of course by the time she did Grimmjow was already on its other side and trapped her in between his arms. He leaned his face down to her level with a slightly maniacal smile. "Wanna try that again?"

Yukiko's eyes darted around her in a slight panic then focused forward, into Grimmjow's dangerously breathtaking blue ones. She felt the annoyance that came up bristle and in her peripheral vision she noticed that people passing them were staring at her, making her redden. She ducked under one of his arms, doing her best to make it look like she had stumbled while walking and rushed forward to the nearest public building. To her surprise it was a movie theatre, she didn't know there was one around.

Yukiko approached the clerk in the window with a message written on a fresh page. **"** **One ticket please."**

The male clerk looked at her with a brow raised but quickly recovered. "What would you like to see?"

She had no clue what was playing nor did she care. **"** **Whatever is playing now."**

"Um… We have a movie that just started but I don't know if you'd like to watch it. It's a very highly rated horror about vengeful spirits." The man said doubtfully.

"What?!" Grimmjow half laughed, half shouted from beside her. She smiled as she pulled out her wallet.

"Alright, 1410 yen please."

Yukiko gave him the money and received her ticket.

"This oughta be good." Her spirit based companion still had some humor to his voice about seeing a ghost horror. Yukiko couldn't deny that she was smiling in agreement. She wasn't in any kind of rush since she had no particular interest in movies so she stopped for popcorn and coke.

The screening room was moderately filled and since they were late and her companion couldn't actually be seen Yukiko sat in the back corner and Grimmjow sat down beside her, immediately shoving his hand in the popcorn putting stuffing his mouth. He chewed with a bad expression. "Why'd you buy this shit?"

{"I like it."} She said since it was too dark to bother with writing.

"What?" He asked.

She chanced the hope that he retained some of the sign language she practiced on him in his cat days. *I like it.*

"Why? It doesn't taste like anything?" Apparently he did.

She put the bag of popcorn on her other side and held up the carbonated drink for him to wash it down with. He sipped, looked like he was considering it for a moment, took another sip then put it down in the cup holder on his far side from Yukiko. She frowned at him hoarding the coke but accepted it since she gets all of the popcorn. They finally settled enough to try and watch the movie and found it just as laughable as they imagined. Perhaps the blood writings, shadowy images and miscellaneous screams were scary to regular humans but when you actually knew spirits and how they behaved and what a "vengeful" spirit actually acted like… The horror seemed more like a bad comedy that didn't know it.

As the other spectators jumped and screamed Yukiko and Grimmjow would laugh at them. This continued for the first forty minutes of the movie but it did become a bit boring. "Alright, time to make this more interesting." The Arrancar spoke as he rose from his seat.

Yukiko watched him with interest as he jumped over a couple of seated people and stopped at an empty chair next to a couple that looked like they were holding onto each other for dear life. When the movie showed a door slam shut Grimmjow slammed down the fold down seat bottom, making the couple look at it in absolute terror. Yukiko tried to hold in a laugh for some reason, as if she would be heard and give away what was happening.

He yanked on the chair again while nothing jumpscare-like was occurring in the movie and then flipped up their bag of popcorn, sending them running and screaming and pulling the attention of nearly all of the movie goers. Grimmjow started walking across the chairs, purposely rattling them and stomping on them to ensure that they make as much noise as possible. When he apparently felt that he built up their fear enough the Arrancar repeatedly used Sonido across the room, knocking food and drinks out of people's hands and seats, slamming hard against the cement walls to cause them to crack and make a terrifying noise. Yukiko could no longer sit upright in her seat from laughing uncontrollably as people ran out of the theater screaming. Within seconds the only noise in the room was the audio from the movie and the maniacal laughter of Grimmjow.

The projection of the movie was ended and the audio came to an abrupt and distorted stop when the lights turned on and an employee rushed into the room. He looked at Yukiko since she was the sole human left then around at the rest of the screening room. While he looked away she spoke to Grimmjow. {"We should get going now."}

"Too bad, I was really starting to have some fun." He said, actually sounding a bit disappointed but his performance was pointless without an audience anyways.

Yukiko made sure to grab her popcorn and Grimmjow's drink while he made sure to rip the broom that the attendant brought for protection and throw it across the room. The poor boy ran away looking like he was about to piss himself.

Inside the lobby and outside the building were people huddled together in fear, trying to make sense of what happened. Unfortunately the annoyance was waiting for them outside too.

"What do you want Kurosaki?" Grimmjow spoke first.

 _"_ _I wonder how this will go…"_ Yukiko thought as she put some popcorn in her mouth. She remembered what the Arrancar told her about the young man, he was righteous to a fault and a goody-two-shoe, so she was curious as to how he would treat a Hollow walking around his city.

"What is happening here?" He questioned in a harsh tone though Grimmjow didn't even blink to it.

"I'm just having a little fun. I didn't hurt anyone so what's the big deal?" Yukiko's friend was starting to sound bored again.

"Terrorizing people is hurting them." The ginger boy argued.

Yukiko looked at him in disbelief. He really is a goody-two-shoe…

"Urahara's instructions were clear: if you want to be here you need to be supervised or a gigai. I tried giving you space but if you can't-"

Grimmjow cut him off. "Can't what? Behave? I'm a Hollow, not a ass-picking brat! I'll do whatever the fuck I want and I don't need anyone's permission!"

The two continued to argue back and forth like that and Yukiko could smell the testosterone in the air emitting between them.

"Hey you!" It took a moment to realize it but this new and angry voice was actually directed at Yukiko and the three of them looked as a young man-boy approached her with another at his side.

"I recognize you! You're that freak who talks but no sound comes out! You had something to do with all that crazy stuff didn't ya!"

While his logic was wrong his conclusion was right. Naturally she wouldn't admit to it though and shook her head no.

The aggressive boy approached her hostilely causing Grimmjow to snarl slightly and Kurosaki looked troubled, like he wanted to do something but no one could see him so he must have felt like he couldn't.

Yukiko's eyes sharpened, she didn't like the way they were coming at her.

"Huh?! Answer me freak! What the fuck did ya do?!" He was nearly in her face now and that was far too close.

She stepped back to try and put some space between them before things got out of hand. The punk stepped forward and so did the Hollow.

"Grimmjow don't!" Kurosaki yelled.

At this rate her companion was going to get into trouble, whatever that entailed, and it left Yukiko feeling like she didn't have many choices at the moment. She dropped her food and drink and punched straight at the aggressor's face, which he protected with both his forearms so without wasting a fraction of a second she punched his diaphragm with her secondary hand. With him temporarily hunched over Yukiko quickly turned to his friend and while he tried to punch she stepped into him and slammed her elbow up through his jaw. She turned to kick the first boy in the face and sent him to the ground then slipped her foot behind the seconds' ankle and pulled it forward while punching him square in the forehead. It hurt her fist but completely unbalanced the boy and he quickly fell to the ground too.

Both the spirit men looked at her: Kurosaki in disbelief and Grimmjow in pride. She walked away and felt them follow, not stopping until they were somewhat secluded to address them; more specifically, Kurosaki. **"** **Did you actually come here for something or were you just wanting to piss Grimmjow off?"**

It took the man-boy a moment to read the message, probably reading it multiple times. "Uh… Well… The Gotei 13, that is the sort of law enforcement of spirits-"

"She knows what they are and what the Soul Society is so get to the point!" Grimmjow interjected.

Kurosaki glared slightly at the Arrancar before resuming. "Grimmjow murdered a human so they don't want him running around totally unrestricted here. If he were a normal Hollow he'd be killed on the spot but we kind of owe him and there are some diplomatic things going on so he's on a sort of probation."

She watched as behind the Shinigami the subject of the conversation rolled his eyes so hard it looked like he might hurt something. Admittedly, Yukiko rolled her eyes too. **"** **Yeah, he killed Shimata. What's the problem?"**

"What's the problem? He killed a living person, that the problem!"

Yukiko frowned with a very irritated look. _"_ _How many times will I have to have this conversation?"_

 **"** **Tell the Gotei 13 to pull their heads out of their self-righteous asses and join the real world where being alive doesn't mean you deserve it."** She didn't really feel like adding anything else to the comment and instead walked up to Grimmjow. {"Want to go home? At least there we can have some privacy."}

He smiled savagely at her. "You go ahead. I'm going to see if I can have some 'barbaric' fun here first."

She looked back at Kurosaki who was watch their exchange with a very rigid stance, then back at Grimmjow. {"I'll take a nap then. Don't wake me up when you get back."}

"Yeah, I doubt I could even if I wanted to." He teased as she walked away.

()

Grimmjow watched for about a second as Yukiko left him to his own devices then immediately looked to Kurosaki. The boy's eyes were both bulging and darting back and forth while he sweated buckets and his jaw hung open. He looked incredibly confused and it was distracting. "What?" The Arrancar asked to pull his attention.

"What do you mean what? What the hell is going on here?! Who is that woman? Why were you at the movies? How does she know what the Soul Society? What do you think you couldn't do even if you wanted to?" The Shinigami looked as panicked as he did when he first found out that Grimmjow was still alive after the Winter War.

"ONE! ASK ONE QUESTION AT A TIME DIPSHIT!" Grimmjow roared.

Kurosaki seemed to calm slightly then looked at him suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling that even if I did ask only one question you won't answer?"

"Because I won't." Grimmjow knew what he said was a contradiction but that was beside the point.

Kurosaki sighed like he was exhausted from the conversation. "You know I have to report to the Soul Society that you've been running around on your own right?"

A single word crossed the Arrancar's mind. _"_ _Snitch."_ Then his frown turned into a smile. "I'd rather just go with my plan."

"You're plan?" Even as he asked the Shinigami readied himself for an attack.

Grimmjow used Sonido to close the distance between the two and then some. He caught him with an extended arm and rocketed them upwards until his momentum slowed. At that point the Arrancar let his body fall to be horizontal and kicked Kurosaki but was blocked with a sword. Grimmjow created a Reiryoku platform at an angle beneath him so that he could pivot and turn his body quickly and tried an uppercut that could only clip Kurosaki's chin.

The Shinigami went on the offensive and tried launched a straight stab at his shoulder, probably hoping the close quarters would make it too difficult for a dodge. For some reason the boy seemed to consistently forget that Grimmjow was his match in speed and used his Sonido again to avoid the strike which caused Kurosaki to use his Flash Step to get past his guard and slashed down across his chest. Grimmjow focused his Reiatsu on his forearm and used it to block the blade, but even with his thickest Hierro he could no longer stop the Zanpakuto from breaking his skin as he had in the past.

Grimmjow smiled at the blood that ran down his arm and dripped from his fingers. The stronger Kurosaki became the sweeter his victory over the boy will be. "You're definitely different from last time." The boy said randomly.

Grimmjow cocked his head backwards slightly with a frown. "What are you babbling about now?"

Kurosaki was actually smiling a bit. "Last time you attacked me you were out of your mind and acting like an animal. This time you're actually fighting like you usually do. Taking your time to get the most enjoyment out of it…"

Blue eyes narrowed a bit. Was his mood really that obvious in his fighting? Suddenly he smiled. "You know what? I really don't care!"

Grimmjow launched himself forward with his hand on Pantera, drawing it to strike Kurosaki. The orange haired boy moved forward to meet his challenge and their swords clashed, ringing out in a metallic shriek. They pushed each other away and lunged for one another again. Before the two warriors could clash a blur of purple and orange appeared before Grimmjow and grabbed his face. Yoruichi threw Grimmjow back to towards the ground but he quickly righted himself up to glare at her and coiled his legs to shot back at her but he was grabbed with tentacles of energy and they pulled him back to the ground and he felt a very uncomfortable enclosing sensation. "Good work Yoruichi!" The annoying voice of Urahara Kisuke shouted.

Grimmjow turned to yell a string of curses at the man but instead heard a sound that haunted his sleep: a cat shriek. He was back in a cat body!

Urahara knelt down above him with a cheeky smile. "As you can see we modified your old gigai so that we can forcibly put you back in it."

Grimmjow puffed his whole body out and spat hatefully.

"Relax we'll let you out. This was just to make sure we had your attention." The dark skinned woman landed on the ground behind him with Kurosaki in a head lock with a large and painfully looking lump on top of his skull.

"Yes." The male Shinigami spoke again. "While we realize the restrictions put on you are absurd and you'll just do whatever you want we are here to encourage you to at least keep a low profile. No more bursts of energy for no reason. Is that doable?"

Grimmjow glared with a low growl in his throat and his tail whipping against his sides. "Oh right!" He said with mock innocence and rammed his cane down on the cat skull, slamming Grimmjow's real face into the concrete and the dummy animal body just collapsed on his back. "Now you can answer."

Since he actually couldn't with his face being continuously being pushed in the concrete by a cane the Arrancar raised a middle finger.

"Alright, alright! No need for that~!" The blond man said playfully as he finally lifted the Zanpakuto-cane off.

Grimmjow glared at the man with a singular thought running through his mind. _"_ _I want to kill…"_

Yoruichi sighed. "Kisuke's bad joking aside, we are serious. We may not be able to talk down the Gotei 13 from sending a Captain out here next time."

"What in the hell makes you think I care who they send at me?" Grimmjow said defiantly.

"You might not care but what about that woman you were with? Do you also not care about dragging her into your mess?" Kurosaki had apparently been released from the woman's hold and joined in on the discussion.

"Oh yes~! Your little human! Ichigo told us about her." Urahara truly had a way about him that made Grimmjow want to punch him in the face.

He no longer cared about his fight; he just wanted to get away from these annoying people and uncaringly used Sonido to leave them and headed back in the direction of the apartment. When he was some distance from them he actually stopped and walked the rest of the way to minimize his Reiatsu output.

No, he doesn't care about any Shinigami coming after him; that one-eyed Captain-Commander of theirs could come for all he cared. But Yukiko was a rarity. If a Shinigami found out about her weird and vague predictions they would definitely lock her up. Even if their meanings aren't clear they are always spot on and only the dumbest of imbeciles wouldn't see the tactical value of her. She was his human and he'll keep her off their radar.

It took a painfully long time for him to get to the apartment just _walking_ but he eventually made it back. It was tempting to just go back to Hueco Mundo since she was probably already asleep but if he did then he would have to deal with the potential of one of the numerous annoying females that run around Las Noches, or more likely the kid. Staying at the apartment was far more preferable. He walked into the building and down the hall but stopped just short of the room door. "What are you doing?"

Yukiko was sitting next to her door, hugging her knees. When he spoke she looked up at him. It took a second but her face switched from expressionless to embarrassed all at once. She started stammering incomprehensibly so he cut her off. "I have no clue what you're saying."

Her expression twitched nervously and she looked away rather than try and speak again. Grimmjow looked at the door then back at her. The last time she returned to an apartment before him she had been attacked. She insisted that the apartment itself wasn't an issue, to which he declared bullshit and clearly he was right. It was doubtful that she was going to go in first so he went ahead and grabbed the key and opened the door. The apartment was empty, naturally, since the attacker was long dead. He entered and called behind. "Get in here already."

It took a few moments but the woman rose from the ground and entered to room, attempting to hide how cautious she was being about it. Grimmjow let himself drop heavily to the floor and sat against the dresser. "What happened to your nap?"

She looked back at him and he finally saw some fire back in her expression. {"What happened to your fight?"}

Grimmjow clicked his tongue. "It started but was cut short." His arm was now throbbing and inflamed in pain to prove it.

Yukiko now seemed to notice his injury and rushed in front of him, she knelt and yanked his arm extending it to look at his injury. It was caked over in blood so the wound itself was hidden; all that could be seen was a small curtain of scabbing blood that trailed out at his hand and down his fingers.

He pulled his arm back. "I'm fine."

She stood and tugged him to come. He stayed where he was and actually shifted himself to get more comfortable. Yukiko's expression became a bit more stubborn and tugged him again. It was starting to annoy him. "Woman…" He only said that one word but his tone was a clear warning.

She tugged again so he glared.

{"Please let me help you."}

Her words wiped the glare clear from his face and the arm in her grasp released all of its tension. He hadn't expected something like that and it made him really look at her and the situation they were currently in. It wasn't by choice but his expression softened slightly. "I don't need treatment. I'll heal in a few days."

She tugged again. {"You'll heal even faster if you actually take care of it then."}

She barely seemed to speak and it was probably a murmur but he more or less could figure out her words. "You have five minutes then you need to leave me alone."

She nodded vigorously and pulled him back to his feet and led him the six steps to the bathroom and began rinsing his arm. She dug out a clean rag from the towel pile and the bathing soap then started scrubbing his arm. When she scrubbed directly over the slash it felt a little sensitive but he otherwise didn't actually feel her ministrations because of his constantly active Hierro which was good since Yukiko scrubbed ruthlessly rough and when all of his old blood was cleared away and he was left with an actively bleeding injury. {"Stay."} She ordered just before she raced to a kitchen cabinet then returned with a small white box with a red cross on it.

The woman wiped the blood off and started wiping some ointment over the injury. When she placed a thick bandage pad over it then started wrapping it Grimmjow was certain she passed the five minute mark but said nothing. She was mostly done.

She finished and in a much calmer manner, put the first aid kit away. Grimmjow lazily walked out of the bathroom and watched her out of the corner of his eye. She turned to him and looked like she wanted to say something so he turned so that she could tell that he was paying attention. {"Sorry I was ruff."}

"I don't care. It's not like I felt it." He dismissed her words.

Her brows knitted together and her head tilted very slightly in confusion. {"You didn't feel it?"}

"Nope." Grimmjow said as he laid back down on the floor. "My Hierro is so thick I couldn't feel a thing except when you were actually on the wound and even then it was barely anything."

{"Is that why your skin is so hard?"} She asked.

Hierro makes skin feel hard? It made sense but the connection never occurred to him. "Probably."

{"Do you always use it?"}

"Yeah. You never know when someone will attack." He spoke and it was only after the words left his mouth that it occurred to him how thoughtless they actually were. Obviously she understood that. She had been sitting outside of her home because she was too afraid to walk in.

Grimmjow felt a little uncomfortable with his own words but did his best to hide it. "I don't expect anything dangerous to happen here but I use it so much it's what's normal for me."

She smiled a little and there seemed to be a little glint in her eyes. {"But you can turn it off?"}

"Sure. Why? Looking to defeat me when my guard is down?" He sat back up and challenged.

{"Every second."} She answered, playing along.

"Alright." It took a conscious effort but Grimmjow deactivated his Hierro. "My armor is gone. How much damage do you think you can do?"

She reached out for his injured arm. Her touch was so gentle he still could barely feel it but she gradually put more pressure in the contact the further she moved her hand away from his injury. His skin now had some give to it as skin is supposed to and he truly felt the softness of her finger on him for the first time.

Yukiko watched her hand and how it moved along his arm and into his palm then fingers. She watched her hand but he watched her face. He saw how there was a weird sense of curiosity and wonder in her expression, as if it was her first time touching another person at all. When he felt her fingers curl around inside his he closed his hand on them, anchoring her to him and getting her to look at his face.

He pulled her in and kissed her. Her lips were soft and rather than form around his as they did the previous night both hers and his molded to each others. The kiss may have started soft but it didn't stay that way. He slipped his free hand against the back of her head and he felt how soft her hair was despite its shortness. He pushed further into her until she fell backwards, she still had a hand in his but her other wrapped around the bottom of his neck to pull him in. Without his Hierro he felt everything much more intensely and kissing her was a hundred times more stimulating than before. He removed his hand from her hair and slipped it down her side and under her shirt; he started pushing it up as he felt more of her soft skin. Yukiko let go of his hand and pulled it away. Almost like a reflex he recaptured it by her wrist and pinned it down as he moved his mouth off of hers and began lightly gnawing on her throat. He was hungry and it had been a long time since he last had this kind of meal. Grimmjow's left hand went back down her abdomen and began tugging the waist of her pants down.

Then everything came to a screeching halt when a sharp pain filled his right arm. Yukiko was clawing into his injury and it made him stop. He lifted his head to glare at her and call her a bitch but all angry thoughts left him. The woman was shaking and grimacing. She looked absolutely terrified.

 _"_ _Fuck."_ It was about the only thought that was able to pass through his mind. He took things at his own pace as he has always done but it clearly wasn't going right. Grimmjow pulled himself up and off of her and she sat up. He couldn't stick around anymore, that much was obvious. The Arrancar opened a Garganta and left her there on the floor.

Even though he wanted to spend as little time in Las Noches as he needed to he was there again. Bored and frustrated. Very frustrated. Nel had a point: he had a strong appetite. As if she could hear his thoughts the green haired woman turned a corner and came into view. She looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "When did you get back?"

"Just now." He said as he approached her.

"There's a look I haven't seen in a while." She said a little surprised. His frustration must be showing on his face.

He looked her up and down, considering just pulling her into another room and getting all of his frustrations out. Without saying anything he took hold of her arm but didn't go anywhere. He still hadn't reactivated his Hierro and when he felt her arm it felt like he had take hold of stone. "Grimmjow, what are you doing?"

His frown deepened and he let go. He shoved his hands in his pockets and realized he was still wearing the jeans and dark blue shirt that Yukiko had bought him.

Since he still hadn't said anything Nel continued to talk. "Where'd the clothes come from? Your human woman?"

He didn't reply and instead turned and walked away from her. "Grimmjow, did something happen?"

"No." He lied and, not escaped, he simply left the conversation. Then he left the palace of artificial sunlight behind to spend some time in the eternally moonlit desert. Out in the emptiness of the desert he could be alone and if he did encounter anyone it was just some Hollow so he would beat them down until they became dust. He eventually found a petrified and twisted tree so he sat down against it and just looked up at the moon and stars.

He was alone and that was how he liked it. Right?

Grimmjow could still perfectly picture Yukiko's face, it was terrified and looking right at him. Terror was usually what he usually liked to see in people but when she looked like that it made him… unhappy? He knew she would be scared if he pushed too fast but it wasn't even a thought in his mind. There were no thoughts in his mind, only sensation. It was rare for him to ever release his Hierro; he was serious when he said he couldn't remember the last time he had. That Reiatsu armor was practically his skin to him. He had forgotten what skin really felt like and the sensation of her hands, her hair, her lips… It had pushed past his guard and directly into his instincts.

He felt better with his head cleared. He left her alone. Alone and scared in a place that looks just like the last place she had been attacked and hurt. "Damn it…"

He opened his Garganta and returned to the apartment with more haste than he would admit to. She was sitting at the table in different clothes drawing and looked at him as he crossed over. She looked away but waved. He didn't say anything, just stood and watched her. He wasn't sure how to go about asking if she was okay. She flipped to a new page and scribbled for a few seconds then held up the book. **"** **Good evening. You can sit down."**

It shocked him to realize that a whole day had passed since he left. Grimmjow scratched his chin but did sit across from her. "What are you drawing?"

She looked at him a little confused but showed him. It was a portrait of a young boy, probably around eleven or twelve. He had almond shaped eyes, a small nose and a wide smile. "Who's that?"

{"No one…"} She answered but he was doubtful. More than her words, Grimmjow was paying attention to how bruised her lips were and the red marks on her throat. He had been very gentle, for him, and still marked up her body.

She must have noticed where he was looking because she reached over the table and kissed him with a peck. {"I know I'm human but I'm not that fragile. I can take a few marks."}

"I can crush you by accident so yes, you are that fragile." He said back.

She rolled her eyes but then looked a bit somber. {"I'm sorry I freaked out. I just couldn't help it."}

"Just don't bring it up." He dismissed any further conversation of the topic.

She nodded in agreement and resumed her drawing. Grimmjow leaned back on his hands and looked around himself. "I call the futon for tonight."

She smiled to herself and shook her head slightly. He _was_ getting the futon tonight.

They ate dinner and slept together separated, he on the futon and she on the blanket. In the morning Grimmjow left the apartment and returned to Hueco Mundo. It was a long boring day of working on Achiim and avoiding Nelliel and her boring questions before he returned to the apartment. Yukiko was painting this time. "What are you doing?"

She didn't answer so he tapped her on the top of her head, causing her to look up. "What are you doing?"

She showed him the painting. It was a skeleton facing a butterfly in a city setting. "Vision?" He guessed.

She nodded her head yes and returned to it to give the buildings a finishing touches while he sat down and sniffed the air. It smelled like carrots and pork roast. She stood up to put the painting off to the side then looked at Grimmjow. {"Dinner is almost ready by the way?"}

"I can tell." He said happily.

Then she looked very excited. {"I got something for you today!"}

"What?"

She walked excited into the bathroom then dragged out a large and cushiony blanket with a thinner blanket and pillow all folded into a stack. {"Your own futon! I got one that was 195 cm long so you should fit."}

Grimmjow smiled mischievously and took the pile away from her and unfolded it a few times, then sat on it like a sitting cushion. "Alright, let's eat!"

Yukiko frowned deeply. {"I'm not cleaning that if you get food on it."} She said then began to put together their cooked meal.

* * *

 **I will not make any promises but I highly doubt it will take as long to get the next chapter out. See you all later!**

 **Yay Comments! (´** **｡** **•** **ω •** **｡** **`) :**

 **jemstone6259: Yeah, and they kissed some more ;)**

 **ookawa: There is always room for more development! Our couple still have some growing to do with each other.**

 **Silent Songstress Sorceress: I have to admit finally getting them together was a relief. And thank you for the praise :)**

 **Blacklightningwolf: Thank you and welcome to the story!**

 **XD-Kaycee: I'm going to try and keep their relationship pace interesting but we'll see if I can pull it off. Nel was just doing what she considered her duty so don't be too upset with her. Yep, Rin is Yukiko's mother, she'll come up more later. Yukiko is human and is not… It's hard to explain without going into details for later plot points. I'm sorry.**

 **Neko Chan: Thank you so much for the compliment on Yukiko! I tried to make it clear in this chapter but couldn't explicitly say since it would be awkward from a story telling point but Nel left Grimmjow to himself after the fighting because she knows he was with a woman and is giving him his space. Plus their mission was finished with finding the Gillian Hollows so all that was left was to report to Tier. Thank you for the patience.**

 **Guest: I'm sorry it wasn't "soon" but it was as quickly as I could do without losing quality.**

 **M. S. Hackett: Thank you for the all the love! I have every intention of finishing the story, I just can't always update on a regular basis.**

 **Guest: Yes… No… Sort of… No… ? I realize that didn't clear anything up but you will find out in detail eventually :)**


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